A man who survived an attack by cows and a damaged leg on a 190 mile run along the Thames said completing the marathon on Sunday demonstrated defiance of terrorism.

Ed Vanson, of Pelman Way in Epsom, who works in the parking department at Surrey County Council, wore an armband for the marathon to show solidarity with Boston after the bombings.

Mr Vanson said: "We had a half minute's silence so it was on my mind right from the start.

"It was important to show defiance against these sorts of things. It was a horrific tragedy."

He described the silence as a 'very reflective' and 'emotional' 30 seconds and he did not have any second thoughts about taking part.

He said: "It's very important to carry on. This is our way of fighting them."

Mr Vanson completed the marathon in four hours and 50 minutes after having run 184 miles from the source of the river in the Cotswold to the Thames Barrier in Woolwich.

He started the run along the Thames on April 8 and completed the feat on April 18 to raise money for the British Heart Foundation.

Mr Vanson said he has undertaken charity events before, but this was his biggest yet "in terms of the money raised and the challenge involved."

He has already raised more than £4,700.

The 36-year-old said: "I wanted to do something to help raise awareness of coronary heart disease.

"My grandmother died of heart disease and my friend has had problems as well.

"It was very, very challenging. I was chased up a tree by three very angry cows on the first day.

"On day four, I hurt my leg and had to run up quite a hilly area and that was horrible.

"At that point I didn’t know if I would get through it but I wasn’t going to give up and remained focus.

"I’m very proud of myself for doing it and my family and friends really supported me through it."

To sponsor Mr Vanson visit www.justgiving.com/edventurerunning