Two dads who lost their daughters in the Southport stabbings last year are getting set to run the London Marathon in memory of their children.

David Stancombe and Sergio Aguiar are gearing up to tackle the 26.2-mile (42km) race on Sunday (27 April) to raise money for projects created in tribute to their daughters.

In July 2024, Alice Aguiar, nine, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Bebe King, six, were killed while attending a dance workshop in Southport.

David will run the London Marathon to raise funds for Elsie's Story, a charitable trust that creates grants to help young people and support others in Southport.

Speaking in a pre-recorded segment on BBC Breakfast, David emotionally shared how "proud" Elsie would be of him.

"Elsie would be so happy to see me cross the finish line, especially for the London Marathon," he shared. "She'd just be so proud."

David revealed he watched the coverage of the London Marathon last year with Elsie, and she had expressed her desire for him to one day tackle the iconic race in honour of her grandmother.

"A little bit of me was like, 'oh yeah, alright Els,'" he said. "I just never thought I would be running it for these reasons."

Around 40 family and friends will cheer David on at Sunday's race. He said: "I've seen so many videos of people crying at the end of the London marathon and I can't imagine what that will be like. But I want to enjoy the day. I want to do it for me and I want to do it for Elsie."

Sergio is raising money to build a new playground at Churchtown Primary School, which will be dedicated to Alice and Bebe, who attended the school together.

Sergio, who will be joined on Sunday by Jinnie Payne, the headteacher of Churchtown Primary School, shared his commitment to completing the marathon.

"Twenty-six miles, I've never done anything like that before. But for my girl, I would do 26 or 50 - whatever," he said. "The pain doesn't matter, I'm going to do it."

Bebe's parents, Lauren and Ben King, will both be at the London Marathon to support David and Sergio.

Lauren said: "It is just incredible what they are both doing. And we want to be a part of it every step of the way."

She also added: "They were such wonderful, caring little children. Even though none of them knew each other, they were all so similar. And I reckon they are just up there watching over us and looking out for us."

The London Marathon will be live on BBC One and iPlayer from 8:30am on Sunday, 27 April. BBC Breakfast airs on weekdays from 6am on BBC One.