Finsbury Park hero imam Mohammed Mahmoud running London half marathon to help tackle child poverty

Hero imam Mohammed Mahmoud, hailed for his brave response to the Finsbury Park terror attack, will run London's new half marathon to help hungry children as part of the Evening Standard's charity appeal.

Mr Mahmoud, 31, stopped a crowd attacking Darren Osborne who drove a van into Muslim worshippers in June. Osborne was jailed for murdering Makram Ali, 51, and injuring 12 others.

The imam, who gave evidence at the trial last month, said taking part in The Big Half is his "small gesture" to fight the dual scourges of child hunger and food surplus in the capital.

He signed up to Team Felix, a group of 57 people who will run this Sunday to raise funds for The Felix Project, after hearing that at least 70,000 children go to school hungry daily in London - as well as seeing signs of "unacceptable" hunger in his own community.

"People come in during prayers and say 'Please, for the sake of God, I don't have a meal to eat,'" said Mr Mahmoud.

The mosque has no fund to help, so staff reach into their own pockets.

"We do what we can on a personal level, but the mosque is so stretched. That's why it's so important to cooperate with organisations that work specifically on these causes like The Felix Project," he said.

"We must support causes that restore people's dignity and make them feel needed and wanted and cared about and loved."

He praised the Standard's appeal to raise money for The Felix Project, saying: "I hate cliches but this is literally saving people's lives."

The Big Half is the official sister race to the Virgin Money London Marathon and more than 15,000 runners will tackle the 13.1-mile race.

The Felix Project is the charity founded by Evening Standard chairman Justin Byam Shaw in memory of his son Felix.

It redistributes fresh, quality food from supermarkets and retailers that would otherwise be wasted to vulnerable people.

Money raised in the Standard's appeal will fund Felix's project to put market stalls stocked with free, fresh food into 120 London schools.

Support Mohammed Mahmoud running the Big Half here.