A man with cerebral palsy has had his request to complete this year's virtual London Marathon over several days refused.

Patrick Barden uses a walker and due to problems with his balance cannot run, making it impossible for him to finish the 26.2 miles in one day.

He asked if the marathon would support him in walking over four or five days as he had done in previous events.

In response he received this statement: "As per the terms and conditions, we ask that everyone who takes part completes the event within a 24-hour time-frame."

Patrick, who lives in Shorne near Gravesend, said: "I am just disappointed that the London Marathon will not work with me and other disabled people in similar circumstances to me.

"It is a virtual event so what is the major issue in taking five or 25 days.

"It is not about medals, it is about challenging yourself and raising money for local charities who need it now more than ever.

"Especially given the platform the marathon has, I was excited to take part in an official event and give a small local charity the exposure that they deserve.

"All I want to do is raise money and awareness and promote that anything is possible no matter what your ability is."

The 29-year-old has cerebral palsy which affects his balance and means he needs a walker to get around.

He would average one mile every 30 minutes but after three or four hours Patrick's muscles seize up and he needs to rest or have other interventions such as a sports massage.

In 2019, Patrick completed the Manchester Marathon over five days.

He said: "They were brilliant, making me feel as included as possible and allowed me to complete my marathon on race day."

Patrick will hopefully be participating on Sunday, October 2 in aid of Step and Learn who are based in Frindsbury Road, Strood, who he credits for where he is today.

The charity offers conductive education to children with cerebral palsy and other associated motor disorders which uses play to teach them how to control their physical movements.

Hugh Brasher, event director of London Marathon Events, said: "We were in touch with Patrick on Friday to sincerely apologise for the response that was sent to him.

"London Marathon Events passionately believes in sport for all and the senior team here is currently working on an extensive review to make all our events as inclusive as possible to people of all ages and abilities.

"We have done a lot in recent years to make our events more inclusive but we know we need to do more.

"Currently there are a number of people who are not able to take part in our events for a variety of reasons, including the rules of the sport of athletics which do not permit people to be pushed or assisted, road reopening times, time limits and other reasons.

"This review is a work in progress and it should be completed by the end of April and will be followed by an announcement of the changes.

"We have explained this to Patrick and asked for his patience during this process and we will be contacting him again next month."

Runners of the virtual marathon can choose to complete it wherever they like as long as it is outdoors and have a 24-hour window to log all the miles meaning it can be done in stages or all at once. The route is logged via an official app which tracks runners.