MONARCH flight crew stalled in their bid to break the Guinness World Record for the ‘fastest marathon in a four-person costume’ at the London Marathon – but the day was still a runaway success.

Air hostess Caroline Brown, from Altrincham, was joined by cabin crew manager Jacq Jones and pilots Steve Day and Simon Gauge, Virgin Money’s second highest individual marathon fundraiser in 2016, for the mammoth challenge on April 23.

The colleagues were together in a custom-made Monarch ‘aircraft’, built by apprentices from Monarch Aircraft Engineering specifically for the world record attempt. It is 5m 35cm long, weighs 21kg and is made of lightweight aluminium.

Unfortunately, one of the quartet 'cramped up' halfway around the course and, although they finished the course, they were an hour and 11 minutes outside their target time of five hours 25 minutes.

But Caroline said the atmosphere on the day was superb and they also raised more than £10,000 for Monarch Foundation charity partners, Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity (GOSH Charity) and Macmillan Cancer Support.

Caroline said: "Unfortunately we didn't set the record. We started off really well but from halfway we had to 'run-walk'.

"The support we received on the day, though, was amazing. Everyone was cheering us on and at least we got around and raised more than £10,000."

Caroline, 32, has completed seven previous marathons, including the Manchester Marathon twice

Captain Simon, who came up with the idea, said: “Between us we have 58 years of experience flying for Monarch, but it’s fair to say we never thought we would be crewing a plane quite like this one or attempting a Guinness World Record.

“Training included regular runs with 5kg backpacks to prepare our bodies for the weight of the aircraft."

Pauline Prow, chairman of the Monarch Foundation, said: “We are so proud of all the staff who ran the London Marathon and raised money for Monarch Foundation charity partners, GOSH Charity and Macmillan Cancer Support.

“The runners worked closely with our engineering apprentices who built the aircraft and trained so hard. It was a great team effort."

To make a donation go to https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/MonarchFoundation-LondonMarathon2017-CarolineBrown