A PRIMARY school teacher will be running the London Marathon in honour of her mum and a pupil, after witnessing their daily battle with diabetes.

Imogen Culliford-Morcom, who has taught at Great Wakering Primary Academy for the past four years, will take on the brutal 26.2 mile challenge in April.

The loving daughter has had to witness first hand her mum, Vanessa, 53, and pupil, Elliott Reynolds, 8, battle with type one diabetes throughout their lives.

The 27-year-old from Shoebury, said: “Mum was diagnosed when she was five after a virus attacked her pancreas, stopping it from working.

“As long as I can remember I’ve watched her have absolutely no control over her blood sugar, and grew up seeing how it affected her life, whether that was her mood, her ability to work, those kind of daily struggles.

“My job when I was young was to make her a cup of tea and check how much sugar she’d need to get to the normal level most of us have.

“There were times when she’d need eight spoons just to get to that point and to be able to get up to do the school run.

“It’s still heartbreaking seeing her so ill and knowing I can’t do much to help, as it’s incurable. She has to inject insulin four times a day.”

She continued: “Elliott was in my class last year, and it was really hard to watch him go through the same struggles as mum at the age of eight.

“Everyday he’d have to have injections, finger pricks to test his blood sugar levels before eating, and count the number of carbohydrates he had for lunch.

“Both are such an inspiration to me, watching how they carry themselves despite what they go through everyday.

“I think there’s this automatic perception that if you have diabetes you have a bad diet, which isn’t the case- with type one, it’s literally from sheer luck.”

Earlier this year, Imogen ran the Brighton Marathon for Diabetes UK, raising £2,500 in total.

Already, she has raised £550 ahead of the London Marathon, and doesn’t plan on stopping anytime soon.

She continued: “I’ve already held a host of raffles, curry nights, and cake sales at work to help raise money.

“I’ll be fundraising from now right up until April.”

To donate, please visit Imogen’s JustGiving page: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/imogen-culliford-morcom2