Ian Scoggins, 12, is basking in the glory of his achievement but was in hot water at the time as he didn't tell his parents what he was up to.

The Scoggins family, from Laburnum Grove, North End, Portsmouth were supporting dad Ian Snr running in the New Forest Marathon and Half Marathon when his son Ian Jr disappeared at the starting line.

Running half-marathons is a passion for dad Ian but his son had only recently joined a running and athletics club and had no intention of taking part in Sunday's event.

Mum Mary Scoggins said: 'He only went to cheer his dad on and run the first bit with him, but then he vanished.

'After 45 minutes he still wasn't back so I started panicking.'

Dad Ian, who finished in 1 hour 45 minutes, said: 'I saw him behind me after about two minutes, then looked again and he'd gone. I assumed he'd gone back.'

The frantic parents enlisted the help of police on site to search for Ian.

'I was in floods of tears worrying about him,' said Mary. 'Then all of a sudden he appeared at the finish line all red-faced.

'We asked him where he'd been and he said he'd run the half marathon.

'We didn't believe him, then people kept coming up and patting him on the back saying how well he'd done.'

Dad Ian added: 'I'm amazed. I'm speechless still, we're just so proud of him

'This was one of the hardest runs I've done, and he was by far the youngest there. People aren't allowed to run until they're 15 or 16, and there's never really anyone there younger than 20.'

Sporty Ian, who attends Miltoncross School in Portsmouth, said: 'My legs are really hurting now.

'I thought I might get lost on my way back, so I kept running. Then once I'd started I wanted to finish it.'

newsdesk@thenews.co.uk