A dad who suffered with severe asthma but turned his life around by dropping seven stone is running two marathons in as many weeks for charity.

Paul Wilson, a childminder from Beith, spent most of his life in and out of hospital due to his asthma.

But after shedding 10 inches from his waist, the dad of three is healthier than ever and wants to thank the charity which has supported him throughout his struggles.

Paul is running the London Marathon and the Stirling Marathon in support of Asthma UK.

The 43-year-old told the Herald: “I used to be massively overweight. I weighed 23stone and the doctor said, ‘If you don’t change – and with your asthma – you won’t see 50’.

“That was the kick up the backside I needed. “I’ve had 48 admissions to hospital since I was two because of my asthma. I lost a lot of school.

“This is my way of saying thank you to Asthma UK and giving some money back to them.

“I took up running, changed the way I see food, started exercising. It’s led to me changing my career because of my weight. I was always a support worker, but it’s led me to working with children because of the energy I’ve got now.

“It’s led to me changing my entire life around. I’m an awful lot happier. I haven’t had an [asthma] attack for about two years.

“My weight impacted on my asthma. Over the years, I gradually became bigger. I wasn’t unhappy with the way I looked but I was having issues and chest infections. I couldn’t run for a bus and I struggled to push my son’s pram.

“When I cross the finishing line – walking, crawling, whatever – I’m hoping to have raised as much money as possible.”

To support Paul, visit his Just Giving page here.