Lifelong West Ham fan Steve Scott has forked out £1,000 to run the London Marathon wearing number 1966 - and pay homage to his footy idol Bobby Moore.

Mr Scott, 34, will run the marathon in April with the magic number on his vest the year West Ham and England captain Bobby lifted the World Cup 0 after he successfully bid £2,000 for it at a charity auction.

He and brother and business partner Ron each paid £1,000 of the bid.

Mr Scott will be running to raise funds for the Bobby Moore Fund for Cancer Research UK and will be remembering three of his uncles who lost their lives to cancer.

The father of four, who co-owns the Carpet Design Centre in Moss Road, Witham, said: "There have been five generations of West Ham fans in my family and we all feel that Bobby Moore is without doubt the greatest West Ham player of them all.

"It will be an enormous privilege for me to run with running number 1966 on my chest. Unfortunately, I wasn't born when we won the World Cup but I am always watching videos of the final.

"I'll be looking to do Bobby Moore and the fund proud by putting in a good time and also raising lots of money for vital research into bowel cancer."

Mr Scott bagged the 1966 number when it went under the hammer during the Bobby Moore Fund Sports Quiz in November, hosted by Des Lynam and Sally Gunnell and attended by TV duo Ant & Dec and runner Steve Cram.

The running number came with a guaranteed place in the marathon.

For further information on the work of the charity, visit www.cancerresearchuk.org

Published Wednesday, January 15, 2003

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