London Marathon: Guinness World Record for runner dressed as unicorn

A Harrogate runner has set a new Guinness World Record after running the London Marathon dressed as a unicorn.

Father-of-three Jeremie Maillard is now the fastest male to be dressed as a mythical creature to complete the 26.2-mile (42.2km) race, recording a time of three hours and 26 minutes.

He said his daughter loves unicorns and the record was a bonus.

"I did practise round Harrogate, so the locals must have thought there was a unicorn on the run," he joked.

Jeremie Maillard poses with his Guinness World Records certificate

Mr Maillard sported flashy leg warmers, a rainbow tail and a mask, although he admitted to having struggled with the latter accessory.

"It was very hard because there's only a small hole through the mouth of the unicorn to see out of, and the breathing as well, so it was very limited vision. It was quite hot," he said.

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Mr Maillard is no stranger to running the London Marathon dressed as a mythical creature, having previously completed the course as a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle for his son.

Guinness World Record judges at the finish line confirmed he had shaved 22 minutes off the previous record.

Mr Maillard raised more than £1,200 for Alzheimer's Research UK, in memory of his late father.

"I made a promise to the kids' school that if I broke the record I would do the school pick-up in my unicorn outfit, so I was inundated with messages yesterday from other parents," he added.

Guinness World Records said the marathon saw 34 record attempts. Of these, 18 secured a record, it said.