DRESSED as his four-year-old son’s favourite TV character, one dad from Calne will take on the London Marathon next month to raise awareness of a disease very close to his heart.

Christopher Edes will run the 26.2 miles as PJ Mask’s Catboy for his son Archie, who was diagnosed with coeliac disease two years ago, with the hope of making people more aware of the disease, and raising money for a charity which has helped his family.

Mr Edes and his wife Sarah became aware that there was something not right with Archie as a baby.

“Two years ago, Archie was diagnosed with coeliac disease. He was a miserable, sicky baby. It is a parent’s instinct,” Mr Edes explained. “It was both a relief and an upsetting discovery for us as a family.”

Coeliac disease is an autoimmune disease caused by a reaction to gluten. It caused Archie to be tired all the time.

Mr Edes said: “The change in Archie was enormous, even after just a few weeks of finding out.

“He now has so much energy, has grown in confidence and, apart from being smaller than most in his class, is a typical four-year-old boy.”

Family life had to adapt after Archie’s diagnosis. They have all gone gluten-free so he doesn’t feel excluded, and he even has his own set of pots and pans because cross-contamination can make him ill.

“Archie’s diagnosis has affected our family in a huge way and has changed Archie’s life forever. We are still adapting our ways and trying to include Archie as much as possible where his diet is concerned.”

Mr Edes decided that as well as raising awareness of the disease, he wanted to also raise money for Coeliac UK.

“Coeliac UK have been a huge support since Archie’s diagnosis, from helping us with food choices, recipes, to offering apps that can tell you in the supermarket whether foods are safe or not,” he explained.