Runner Rob Grillo is thanking his lucky stars he did not take part in the London marathon.

The day before he was due to travel down to the capital, having packed all his running gear, he received a hand-delivered letter which stopped him in his tracks.

The message was that if he ran, he could drop dead.

Mr Grillo, 32, head of geography at Greenhead High School, Keighley, could hardly believe what he was reading.

The letter said he had an enlarged heart and must cease any strenuous activity, immediately.

"My doctor had the letter delivered by hand because if I hadn't got it on Friday, I would have run and I could have dropped dead," said Keighley man Mr Grillo, who has been a keen runner since he was 11 years old.

"I was shocked. I'd been running 60 miles a week in preparation.

"I had hopes of finishing in two hours and 40 minutes, which would have been in the top couple of hundred."

Mr Grillo has run half marathons, recently run in the national road relay in Birmingham for Keighley & Craven Athletic Club and ran in county championships as a schoolboy at Ermysted's Grammar School, Skipton.

And earlier this year he had taken part in a 30 mile sponsored run at school.

The bombshell news came following a series of tests after he visited his doctor about three week ago, complaining of lethargy.

He said: "I'd been training really hard and noticed I was overly tired when I'd finished. And I was getting tired very easily. I thought it was because I was training too hard.

"Of course, I decided not to run - I didn't want to be another statistic. There have been a number of people died of heart attacks after the marathon."

But it didn't stop him travelling down to London to watch the race. Now he is awaiting a series of other cardiac tests at Airedale General Hospital, Steeton.

He added: "We don't know what has caused it. It might be temporary, it might be long term. I could have had it for years - I've just got to wait and see and keep my fingers crossed. But I'm an optimistic person and I'm looking on the bright side."

It now means he must take it steady during the one physical education lesson he takes a week. Sadly, he can't run with his two border collies, Fly and Fliss.