Ferndown Forest Golf Academy proprietor and PGA professional Mike Dodd, pictured, is turning to marathon running in memory of his best friend.

He was shocked when computer expert Tony Bramley, from Boscombe, died from a heart attack at the age of 43, leaving his wife Debbie and six daughters.

Dodd was keen to "do something important in his memory" for a friend of 15 years and an occasional golfer at Canford School.

He contacted the British Heart Foundation and gained a berth in this year's London Marathon on April 23.

He said: "I am looking for sponsorship, especially from those whom I have helped with their golf swings over the years. I want to raise as much money as I can for a very good cause."

Dodd, aged 41, has been out of practice since running the Potteries Marathon in 1992 and two Poole Marathons in the following two years.

But he is training hard and had the advantage of three weeks' warm weather training after his recent holiday in his native New Zealand.

He is giving two free golf clinics at the Ferndown Forest Golf Academy on April 30 to anyone who has sponsored him.

"That is to say thank you for the support and the clinics would cover a variety of topics with a fun theme to them," he said.

Full details at www.bhf.

org.uk/sponsor/mikedodd