A taxi driver from Kingston ran the London Marathon dressed as an emoji for Barnardo's children's charity.

Bobby Owen, 47, a London black cab driver who lives in Kingston, decided to run the London Marathon for Barnardo’s in fancy dress after completing the race for the first time last year in standard running gear.

The taxi driver joked that he wanted to "make it easier" after his 2018 race by competing in the costume, which in reality made running that bit more difficult but also generated some great responses from fellow runners and spectators alike.

Mr Owen said: "The costume fully encases me covering my knees and shoulders. Running in it for 26.2 miles was very difficult, especially when you are trying not to bash into other runners, but it created a great reaction."

The Kingston cab driver revealed he raised over £3,500 for Barnardo's.

Speaking with the charity after the race, which took place last Sunday (April 28), the Kingston cabbie said that they were an organization who did work very close to his heart.

"I chose Barnardo’s because it’s the UK's largest independent adoption agency and I was adopted myself, so it’s nice to give something back," Mr Owen said.

He added thanks to his "amazing" family (pictured) for their support, describing how they "put up with me drone on about making costumes and waking up at 5am for training."

Mr Owen also revealed that customers in his black cab also helped him raise money for the cause.

"I’ve had a sign in the back and they have been putting money in the tin and that’s how I have been able to raise the majority of the money - so a big thank you to all of them as well. It's been a fantastic experience," he said.

Barnardo’s Chief Executive Javed Khan previously offered praise to everyone who ran the London Marathon for Barnardo's.

Mr Khan said: "We are delighted so many people took on the London Marathon for Barnardo’s this year.

"Running a marathon is an enormous challenge, which requires many hours of training and perseverance.

"We are incredibly grateful to every runner who chose to fundraise for Barnardo’s. It’s thanks to wonderful people like you that we can continue our vital work supporting thousands of the most vulnerable children, young people, parents and carers across the UK."

Last year a total of 301,100 children, young people, parents and carers were supported by Barnardo’s through more than 1,000 services across the UK, such as young carers, care leavers, foster carers and adoptive parents, training and skills or parenting classes.