DAYS after this year's London Marathon, a former Abingdon schoolgirl is urging others to sign up to run next year's race for the same charity as her.

Charlotte Aitken, who grew up near Wantage and went to St Helen and St Katharine School, will be running the 2017 marathon for mental health campaign Heads Together.

The new charity was launched by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, William and Kate, and Prince Harry and is the official 2017 London Marathon charity of the year.

It aims to end stigma around mental health and "change the national conversation on mental wellbeing" by working with existing mental charities Place2Be, Best Beginnings, CALM, Contact, Mind, The Mix and Young Minds.

Miss Aitken, who now lives in London, will run the race for the Heads Together team but raise funds for Place2Be, which provides mental health support in schools.

She said: "I feel privileged to be running on behalf of Place2Be. Their work intervening early to support the emotional wellbeing of pupils in schools couldn’t be more important and I am proud to be championing the importance of children’s mental health.

"I hope lots of people will join me in running for Heads Together in next year’s marathon."

In June, Place2Be will start delivering a "Mental Health Champions" programme in Oxford and Banbury. The initial programme will run in six schools and provide training and consultation to help staff understand and respond to mental health problems.

The general public can apply for a Heads Together charity place to run for the team at headstogether.org.uk. The fundraising target for each place is £2,000.