SLEEP is often a very emotive subject for parents – particularly those of young children.

Small babies spend the majority of their time asleep, but do wake at frequent intervals, often at the most antisocial hours.

As they mature they start to develop a day/night pattern, and by six months most babies will sleep more at night than in the day, eventually sleeping through the night. By the age of three or four, most children have stopped having regular sleeps in the day.

Although many children are good sleepers, at least a quarter of those under five will have difficulties at some point either settling to sleep or waking during the night.

Night-time waking is quite normal. We all have sleep rhythms with different phases, going through light and deep sleep throughout the night. Every three or four hours we reach light sleep or wake up, though most of us just turn over and go straight back to sleep .

Children go through these phases more quickly and may wake up more often. If they have not learnt to self settle, they may get up and disturb the rest of the family.

What often makes things more difficult is that everyone you ask – whether they are a parent, relative or a professional – will have their own opinions about how you should manage your child's sleep difficulties.

The good news is that for most children, establishing a good sleep pattern is relatively easy if you stick to a few basic rules.

Set a bedtime and stick to it

Have a good bedtime routine for the hour before bed. For example quiet activities, bath, milky drink or snack

Avoid lively games and drinks containing tea or caffeine

Settle the child in their own bed

Have lights off or dimmed

Say goodnight and leave the room

If the child does not settle, or gets up, return them to bed with as little interaction as possible. The same process should be followed if they wake up during the night.

Following these steps is not always easy, particularly if you are exhausted from the previous night. Things may get worse for a night or two, but if you are able to stick to your plan, most children will be sleeping better within days.

If it does not seem to work then contact your local children's centre, health visitor or GP.

STAN Porter never got to see his granddaughter grow up.

Megan Housley was just ten when the 66-year-old lost his battle with bladder cancer in 2004.

Next year she will graduate from university, where she has been studying to become a teacher.

"It would have meant the world if he could have seen it," said Megan, 20, through tears, who spent every spare moment with her granddad.

"He would have been so proud. Mum always used to say I was his favourite.

"I still miss him so much."

Mr Porter, of Leicestershire, was diagnosed with the disease in 2002.

Although an operation to remove the tumour initially seemed to be a success, further tests discovered the cancer had spread.

He went through chemotherapy to try to prolong his life but died in 2004 aged 66.

His daughter, and Megan's mum, Sharon Housley, 45, worked hard to make sure he saw as much of his grandchildren as possible while he was being treated.

"It was heartbreaking," said Sharon. "At one stage we thought the tumours had stopped growing for a couple of months but then it came back with a vengeance.

"They just loved him so much. They spent so much time with him when they were growing up. They were almost like second parents.

"When I think back they did get upset but I think they really kept us going as well."

Sharon and Megan, who has two brothers, will run the Race For Life in honour of Mr Porter. The pair have had T-shirts made for the occasion which each show a favourite picture of him.

There is no doubt in Sharon's mind that he will be looking down on the whole thing.

"It upsets me at times to think what he would say if he could see his grandchildren now because he would be so chuffed," she said.

"He has other grandchildren too, including two he never met, and he would be so proud.

"This is just something I want to do in his memory. We think about him every day but we want him to look down on us and be able to show him we think about him every day.

"It's also to raise money so other families don't have to go through what we have because they are developing cures all the time."

Megan and Sharon, of Bagthorpe, will join nearly 5,000 other women to take part in the Race For Life at the Victoria Embankment.

The 5k race can be walked, jogged, or run.

Sharon added: "We will cross the finish line together for my dad however we do it."

In Nottingham last year 8,500 women took part in Race for Life and raised more than £450,000 for cancer research.

All money raised will help Cancer Research UK's doctors, nurses and scientists make advances in research which will help more men, women and children survive cancer.

Hana Lawson, 23, of Beechdale, will be completing the race – despite having just had surgery.

"I'm taking part on Sunday, running with my daughter who is four," she said.

"We are running for family members that have lost their fight with cancer, those still fighting and survivors still going strong.

"I had surgery on Wednesday but will still be taking part as my pain is nothing compared to theirs.

"Hopefully the money we raise will help someone with their fight."

PATIENTS and visitors are invited to nominate their hospital heroes for this year's NUHonours awards.

Now in their seventh year, the awards recognise the extra effort people make to care for patients at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust.

Last year over 630 nominations were received in the 15 award categories – a record.

NUH chief executive Peter Homa is urging nominations for those who have shown incredible determination, professionalism and passion on a daily basis.

Peter said: "NUHonours is all about rewarding our unsung heroes, those who consistently go above and beyond to do their very best for patients and those who are seen as excellent role models by both patients and colleagues."

"Please take the time to nominate a team or member of staff at our hospitals who you feel have 'gone the extra mile' in their daily work to help improve patient and staff experience."

As well as awards for different clinical specialties at NUH, there is also an award for volunteers, fundraisers, and partnership working – plus an award to recognise the trust's 14,000 public members who have made an outstanding contribution to the organisation in the past year.

Judging will take place in September/October, with the awards presented on Friday, November 16, at the East Midlands Conference Centre.

NOTTS will stake its claim for the East Midlands high speed rail station to be built in Toton, councillors have said.

The sidings at Toton were chosen as the preferred site for the station ahead of Derby.

When it is built in 2028, the high speed trains will mean the journey time from Nottingham to the capital is cut to 68 minutes.

And in the face of calls for the station to be built in Derby, Notts County Council is set to work with Nottingham City Council to look at the benefits of bringing the line to Toton.

The study, which will cost £35,000, will look at how the new station would boost investment in the East Midlands and connections between the site and the rest of the county.

The plans were given the green light at the transport and highways committee meeting at Notts County Council on Thursday.

Speaking at the meeting, Conservative councillor Richard Jackson said the county had to show why the station should be built in Toton.

He said: "I welcome this and it is the right thing to be doing – Derby City Council has said it will be spending money on trying to bring the station there and we cannot afford to be complacent.

"To be honest, Toton is the right location for the station – it is right next to the A52 and had good links with the M1 and the Department of Transport has already produced evidence which shows it's the best place.

"But we have to continue to make the case for Toton."

And it is clear Derby will not take this decision to bring high speed rail to Toton, and not Derby, lying down.

Paul Bayliss, leader of Derby City Council, has previously said the authority was prepared to pay tens of millions to bring the high speed trains to the city.

He added: "The choice of Toton is very disappointing because we had undertaken a detailed study of the economic benefits to the Derbyshire and Notts area.

"This report was provided to Government and has been available publicly and it shows that the two counties would derive greater benefits from a station at Derby.

"We would put some money in ourselves for on-site car parking or a park and ride scheme.

"We would be prepared to do this because the economic benefit is so huge for the city."

LABOUR have won their 50th seat on the city council – and their first in Wollaton West for more than ten years.

The shock result in the traditional Tory stronghold will give a boost to Ed Miliband's party two years away from the general election. It comes just a month after the Conservatives lost two seats in West Bridgford at the county council elections.

Labour candidate Steve Battlemuch ended up taking 46.8 per cent of the vote, with the Conservative share of the vote down from 51.7 per cent in 2011 to 33.8 per cent this time.

UKIP candidate Chris Clarke beat the Liberal Democrat Barbara Pearce into third place.

But Labour city council leader Jon Collins said the party wouldn't be complacent.

He added: "I know Steve will be a good councillor for the area – he is passionate and knows the area well and will work hard.

"UKIP took more than 500 votes and even if you add that to what the Tories got, we still got more. I don't think it's a case that UKIP split the vote here.

"I hope the party does well in future elections, of course, but this will only come if we have a clear manifesto and clear ideas which people want to see happen."

But Conservative leader at the city council Georgina Culley said that MPs in marginal seats in the county didn't have anything to worry about.

She added: "It's the case with by-elections that the results might be different from expected.

"It is a shame because our candidate would have made a good councillor.

"And it seems clear to me that Conservative-minded voters who voted UKIP have got Labour instead.

"Anna Soubry (Broxtowe) and Mark Spencer (Sherwood) won't be worried by this, they are well known and supported in their areas," Mrs Culley added.

LABOUR Deputy leader Harriet Harman has hit out at Broxtowe MP Anna Soubry for comments over female GPs.

Ms Soubry, a health minister, said there were "unintended consequences" of training women to become doctors.

She was responding to a statement by Conservative MP Anne McIntosh about the "burden" of female doctors marrying and starting families.

Ms Soubry said: "She makes a very important point when she talks about, rightly, the good number of women who are training to be doctors, but the unintended consequences."

But speaking ahead of a visit to Notts for the East Midlands Labour Party Women's Conference, Ms Harman said: "The problems with accident and emergency have happened on their watch and it has nothing to do with women GPs, bank holidays, the weather, or the GP contract.

"We have a five point wish-list for the Government to deal with the problems in accident and emergency and not one of them has anything to do with the number of female GPs.

"The idea that you can solve this crisis in accident and emergency by only having male GPs is hard to follow."

Later, Ms Soubry said she believed the Government supported schemes which helped retain female doctors.

She added: "I fully support women GPs, my comments were not intended to be derogatory and I was responding to a point made by another MP during the debate.

"As the head of the Royal College of GP also recently pointed out, some female GPs work part-time due to families. The solution is that we need to increase the number of GPs and we are doing that.

"This government supports good working practices such as flexible working, job sharing and part-time working which help retain female doctors."

A STUDENT who has suffered from acute asthma since he was a child has developed an inhaler which signals whether a user has taken the right dosage.

Josh Averill, 22, an undergraduate in product design at Nottingham Trent University, says his invention has the potential to alleviate people's symptoms by helping ensure they administer the medicine correctly.

His prototype has been on show at the university's Art and Design Degree Shows this week.

The inhaler features a sensor that measures airflow. If the user breathes in correctly – and in doing so increases the airflow – a green LED lights up. But if an inadequate amount is inhaled, a red one comes on.

Two buzzes are also sounded: the first to signal when the user should start to inhale and the second to let them know when to stop holding their breath.

"I really like the thought that it could help other people who have difficulties with asthma," Josh said.

"Quite a few of the problems people have are related to the fact that they are not getting the correct dosage from their inhaler. If this happens for a long period of time, a person's asthma can get worse."

Josh undertook research with 60 different people – including schoolchildren, fellow university students and older people – and asked asthmatics and non-asthmatics to test the prototype. He also interviewed specialist doctors and nurses.

A MAN has been found guilty of murder – but his victim's head and arms are still missing.

It is now hoped Peter Healy may reveal where the dismembered body parts are for the sake of the dead man's family.

Healy will be sentenced to life in prison on Monday for killing his ex-girlfriend's new partner Kevin Kennedy.

Mr Justice Flaux will determined the minimum length of the life sentence Healy will serve before consideration can given for parole.

Mr Kennedy was discovered in a shallow grave on land between Rossington Road and Burrows Court, Sneinton, on August 8 last year.

Healy's former partner, Tara Swift, was cleared of murdering him – but convicted with Healy of perverting the course of justice.

After the unanimous verdicts were delivered, prosecutor Timothy Spencer QC told the judge the case had caused acute distress to Mr Kennedy's family – particularly because parts of his body have not been found.

There was hope the court proceedings may shed light on where the missing parts were but Mr Spencer said: "That hope has been dashed. They will never know where they are."

After the hearing, Chief Inspector Rob Griffin told how police went to great lengths searching for 50-year-old Mr Kennedy.

A finger-tip search of a landfill site in Newark took six weeks and turned up nothing.

Locations near to the shallow grave where Mr Kennedy lay were examined but all efforts were in vain.

"The only person that knows where the missing body parts are is Peter Healy and unless he tells us they will never be found," said DCI Griffin.

"It is a particularly distressing case for the family."

Swift told police that Healy had burst into her then-home in Rossington Road, Sneinton, attacked Mr Kennedy and punched her when she tried to stop him.

Healy, 51, of Lord Nelson Street, Sneinton, put a chair on Mr Kennedy's head and described him looking like a "horror movie".

Swift, 41, now of West Street, Leicester, claimed Healy was swearing and accused Mr Kennedy of "having sex with his missus".

She said after the attack she left with Healy but he later returned to "clean up".

Mr Kennedy, who had been staying at Rossington Road and the London Road Project in Nottingham, was discovered dismembered on August 8, three weeks after he was attacked.

Dilute blood in a back room at Rossington Road was consistent with an account that water was thrown over him.

Heavy bloodstaining on a mattress upstairs indicated he had lain there for some time and was partially dismembered there.

A pathologist who examined Mr Kennedy's body could not find an obvious cause of death.

He appeared to have been decapitated with a knife and a saw, Nottingham Crown Court had heard.

IGNORANT drivers are being warned they could pay for flouting the rules of the road under new plans to monitor problem areas with CCTV.

Nottingham City Council plans to spend £40,000 on an automatic number plate recognition camera for a Department of Transport pilot scheme to tackle unsafe and disruptive driving.

It hopes to collect enough evidence to move responsibility for "moving traffic offences" – including ignoring box junction rules and making illegal turns – from the police to local authorities.

Roads monitored by the portable camera will include David Lane, in Old Basford, Queen's Road at its junction with Carrington Street and Beck Street, both in the city centre.

These sites have been identified as having high numbers of drivers who ignore traffic restrictions.

Councillor Jane Urquhart, portfolio holder for Planning and Transportation, said: "Keeping our city's roads safe is a priority for Nottingham City Council.

"While we have a great record for stopping vehicles using our bus lanes, we haven't had the powers to take action against other moving traffic offences such as people ignoring "No Entry" signs.

"This pilot will give us chance to develop a system where we can do this and, subject to the enactment of the powers under the Transport Act 2004, we would be able to start using an adapted bus lane camera for other moving vehicle enforcement.

"Should the pilot not succeed we would still be able to use the camera as part of our already successful bus lane enforcement programme.

"We have pushed for these powers for some time and we are pleased the Secretary of State for Transport has listened to our case and asked us to look at providing tangible evidence, practical and effective solutions."

Anyone caught during the six-month pilot will not be fined but their vehicle registration will be passed to Notts Police. The force will carry out DVLA registered keeper checks and issue warning and advice letters to owners of the vehicles.

It is hoped the scheme will free up police resources, allowing the force to focus on more serious crime.

A report submitted about the pilot states: "Due to their focus on core responsibilities, the police service is not in a position to give priority to the more minor moving traffic offence."

If the pilot is successful the council can apply for an order to take responsibility for moving traffic offences across its whole area.

More cameras would go up and fixed penalty notices would be issued to those that break the rules.

Sarah MaCleod, 35 of Nottingham, could not see the scheme working long-term.

She said: "The council can't manage the issues they have now and it just seems like another money-making idea."

The £40,000 needed for the project will come from existing Traffic Management budgets.

Mariah the rabbit has had one too many nibbles and is now being put through her paces to shed the extra pounds.

The bulging bunny from Long Eaton has been picked to take part in Pet Fit Club – a national pet slimming competition run by veterinary charity, the PDSA.

She is one of 21 dogs, cats and rabbits from across the country selected to take part.

Three-year-old Mariah weighed in at 3lb (2.7kg) – around a quarter more than she should. She was entered into the six-month diet and fitness challenge by her owner, Jennifer Smith, 29.

Jennifer said: "Mariah isn't named after the singer, but she can be quite a diva – she definitely lets us know when she's not happy about something.

"She used to be smaller than her sister, Buttercup, but she is very greedy and helps herself to more than her fair share.

"She's steadily gained weight and is getting so big now I struggle to pick her up, so I entered her into PDSA Pet Fit Club."

Mariah will be put on a strict diet and fitness programme by vets and nurses at Nottingham PDSA PetAid hospital.

This will include cutting out her favourite treat of carrots, which are high in sugar and are the rabbit equivalent of chocolate.

PDSA Vet Jim Kellow, who will be monitoring Mariah's weight loss, said: "Mariah is obese, which can have very serious consequences for her health and life expectancy.

"Overweight pets are more likely to develop a number of serious health conditions. The good news is it's never too late to make a positive change and improve a pet's lifestyle. We're confident Mariah will have a slim-line figure and new lease of life by the end of the competition."

Jennifer added: "I used to just leave food out in the hutch for both of them as that's what was generally recommended, but Mariah was clearly eating too much so I've learnt not to do this now.

"I know Mariah's extra weight increases her risk of certain illnesses, so I'm determined to help her slim down so that she's healthier and happier."

Other pets taking part in PDSA's annual pet slimming competition include Ulric, a greedy two-stone Norwegian Forest cat, bulky Bull Mastiff Mizzy who weighs over 11 stone, and larger-than-life Labrador Tia who is over nine stone. The porky pets will all be competing to win the title of PDSA Pet Fit Club slimmer of the year.

Supporters can follow Mariah's progress by visiting www.pdsa.org.uk/petfitclub and can sponsor her weight loss challenge to help raise vital funds for PDSA.

WHEN it comes to opinions, David Johnson is not the sort to sit on the fence. Anyone who follows his Twitter feed will know this, unequivocally.

Whether it is a mistake from a player in a match he is watching on TV or a bad lunch, the former Forest striker is not shy about expressing his views.

And, when he insists there are a dozen teams who could challenge for promotion in the Championship, he is not, for once, uncharacteristically hedging his bets.

He is deadly serious.

Forest, under Billy Davies, he says, are equipped to be one of the sides who can challenge for a place in the top flight.

But, if last season was a closely fought affair, he warns that the coming campaign could be even tighter, with so many teams equipped to play a part in the promotion battle.

"The teams coming down are going to be organised. Wigan in particular will be consistent, even without Roberto Martinez," says Johnson.

"People talk about the great job he did – and he absolutely did. But so did Paul Jewell and Steve Bruce, before him. Both men got the club into the Premier League.

"They have not just had one good manager. Martinez has got them playing good football – but where did it get them?

"Yes, it won them an FA Cup. But it also got them relegated.

"He did a great job, but they will still have a good chance now he has gone.

"I am not sure about QPR, they could do anything. They had a team that got them out of the Championship and that, initially, kept them up.

"They have Championship quality players like Bobby Zamora, Andrew Johnson, Clint Hill and Shaun Derry. They do have top quality Championship players.

"But the others are going to be the issue, the ones who are on big money who will not want to leave QPR.

"They will not be able to get rid of them.

"I think QPR will be fine, because when you look at (Robert) Green in goal, then people like Hill, Derry, Johnson and Zamora, there is a decent spine to the team.

"I just think the three teams who came down will be quality, when you include Reading in the mix as well.

"Then you will have Watford who, while they have to rebuild, will be a force to be reckoned with.

"People like Carlton Cole might look at them and think, 'well, it is near London; I won't have to move and I might be able to help them win promotion'.

"Leicester, who have been there or thereabouts over the last few years, will be up there.

"I can't see Blackburn pushing, but Ipswich will be a tough side when Mick McCarthy gets hold of them over the summer.

"Leeds will probably challenge, because they do not have a bad squad. You could name ten or 12 teams who could challenge.

"It will be a big struggle, but Forest can be one of those sides, if they do make the right additions."

One of the Reds' biggest assets, says Johnson, will be their manager.

In Billy Davies the club has a man who has vast experience in the Championship.

And the former striker believes he is the kind of boss that players appreciate playing under.

"Listening to players, it sounds as though he makes things very simple," he said. "He does all the graft off the field, he works on the opposition and prepares things.

"He does give them instructions, but he also goes and lets the lads play.

"He just needs a little quality.

"We need to get back to the days of only conceding a goal every two or three games.

"If we can do that, we will soon start winning games.

"He will sort the back-four out and he will look for that player who can score goals.

"But the most important thing is that they need their belief back.

"It is down to the strikers. If they can get started well, Forest can build on that and secure a place in the Premier League."

Forest have tied Darius Henderson to a contract in the past 24 hours – and Johnson hopes to see more signings on the horizon soon.

"It has to happen quickly, because free agents will be snapped up," he said. "There will be some players who wait and wait, in an effort to get the best possible deal.

"But they are not the players you want. You want the players who are hungry to play, who want to come to play for Forest and want to get a deal sorted to come here.

"You want to be able to go away on pre-season with your squad together, not feeling that you need to add any more."

When it comes to the subject of new signings Johnson, now a scout for Premier League giants Chelsea, does have a few ideas.

"You look down the lower leagues, there are some good players," he observes. "Tendayi Darikwa at Chesterfield – I would take a gamble on him.

"He is big and strong, he is quick down the wing.

"He could be the next Bakary Sako, the lad who is at Wolves. He has pace and can be a threat.

"Sako himself would be a good option, perhaps, now that Wolves have gone down. Perhaps they would be willing to do business on him, although Premier League clubs might take a look at him as well.

"Forest do lack pace and, while it might be a nice daydream, I can't imagine that Garath McCleary or Chris Gunter are going to come back.

"Reading have been relegated, but they are on a great financial footing where they probably don't have to get rid of many, if any, players.

"It is very difficult to add better players than we have.

"But there are fantastic free transfers out there and Forest have been linked to a few of them – which is always the case, because this is still a big club.

"Getting them over that line has always been the hard part.

"I have high expectations for Forest, but it is going to be a lot tougher in the Championship next season. A lot tougher."

Nottingham Forest have not appointed bad managers, they have just appointed the wrong ones, says David Johnson.

The former Reds striker believes the club have landed the right man in Billy Davies.

And he hopes the managerial merry-go-round at the City Ground will be halted for a little while.

"Steve McClaren's downfall at Forest was that he did not know the league, he did not know the players at Championship level or below," says Johnson, who adds that management is unlikely to be a path he wants to go down in the future.

"Because of that, he did not know how to push the club forward.

"I think if you had asked him about a player in Holland or Germany, he would have had an in-depth knowledge.

"But he did not know how to put together a side at Championship level.

"And he didn't have the people around him to say 'this is what you want, this is what you need to take the club forward'.

"He got out at the right time for him. It did not damage his career.

"Alex McLeish did the same thing. They are both honest men and realised that things were not going well for them, so they jumped ship.

"Sean O'Driscoll did a good job and was unlucky to get sacked when he did.

"No, the management side is perhaps not for me.

"Football is the strangest game on the planet. You would not believe some of the things that happen.

"If you had said to Forest fans that they would have a millionaire owner who would bring loads of players in – but who would also be hiring and firing managers in the way that he has – they might have said 'hold on a minute'.

"They would have wanted stability. But, while it took him three managers to do it, the owner has probably found the right one for the club now."

Johnson is certainly happy in his current job, travelling the world to scout players for Premier League giants Chelsea.

"When I finished playing, I never knew what I wanted to do. I felt like I wanted to coach, but no real opportunities came up to do that," he added.

"It is fantastic. It gives me a lot of time at home, but also the opportunity to travel and watch football.

"I would like to do this for a few years to get the background knowledge.

"I scout through England and anywhere abroad. I do a lot in the Midlands and the south, but basically I go where I am told to.

"We have the under-19s, the under-20s and the under-21s in tournaments this summer.

"Then we cover every friendly international game; the club will have a scout at every one of those games that is worth watching.

"There is quality all over the place, so there will be a lot of those games being covered.

"We have a really busy summer coming up. But I really enjoy it. It is a great job."

Students at Nottingham Girls' Academy have moved into their new £13.5 million school.

It has replaced the old building which dated back to the 1950s.

The doors opened to pupils for the first time at the start of this week – and first impressions have been positive.

The new building has high-tech classrooms with modern equipment, including fast broadband.

Principal Peter Holyk said it was a huge boost for students.

He said: "It is an amazing building, something which the students totally deserve.

"A lot of work has been put into it. It is completely different to the old building. It will inspire students and make them want to come to school.

"We fully expect to see further increases in results."

The academy is part of the Greenwood Dale Foundation Trust, which also runs Nottingham Academy in Sneinton as well as several others across the country.

It was set up in September 2011, replacing the old Manning School for Girls.

It has already seen improving GCSE results and this year will be the first time students receive A-level results.

It spent the first 18 months in the Manning building but has now moved to the new building next door in Robins Wood Road, Aspley.

The old building is set to be demolished to make way for extra car parking spaces and a multi-use games area.

The old sports hall will continue to be used while the academy seeks funding for a new one.

Barry Day, chief executive of the trust, said: "It is a great occasion for the academy.

"The old building dated back many years and was in a bad way. It was riddled with asbestos.

"We are very pleased with how the new building has turned out.

"It is the same style design as the Nottingham Academy in Sneinton and some of our other new buildings.

"It is a great place for students to come to learn in. Having a new building like this is crucial for their education."

Students have also given the thumbs-up to the new building.

Abisola Solola, 16, said: "I think it looks really good. It is so much better than the old building and much better for learning in."

Amanda Danisa, 15, said: "The new building looks great. It makes me proud to be part of the academy when I see it.

"It is so much better than the old one. You can't really compare the two of them."

PARALYMPIC star Richard Whitehead has received his MBE at Buckingham Palace for services to sport.

The sprinter and marathon runner from Lowdham received the award from the Prince of Wales.

The picture of him crossing the finishing line – arms aloft – to break the world record and claim gold in the T42 200m at the Paralympics was one of the enduring images of the games.

He was listed in the New Year's Honours for the gong and picked it up in London yesterday.

He tweeted: "32 yrs ago I learnt to swim today I collect my MBE at Buckingham Palace 4 services to sport!"

He was born with no legs below the knee and currently holds the world record for double amputees in the 200m, half-marathon and marathon.

He is running from Land's End to John O'Groats this summer – and is even taking time out halfway for a 5km fun run in Nottingham.

The challenge, called Richard Whitehead Runs Britain, will cover the length of the UK for Scope and Sarcoma UK and he is hoping to raise £1 million for the two charities.

Mr Whitehead said: "I'm living proof that having a disability shouldn't stop you from achieving your goals."