Seven members of Surrey Police's ice hockey team, the Surrey Lions, will be putting their best feet forward when they take on the challenge of running the 2012 Virgin London Marathon dressed in full ice hockey kit in a bid to boost funds for Crimestoppers.

The team, consisting of Sergeant Karim Tayar, PC Glyn Leighton, PC Dale Hathaway, PC Jay McLeod, PC Tom Brown, Karl Loveday, and Dean Leighton will embark on the gruelling challenge this Sunday. They will be joined by Chief Superintendent Gavin Stephens and Kelly Tayar who will run the 26.2 mile race dressed as referees.

Sergeant Karim Tayar said: "This will be an enormous challenge for us. Not only do we have to contend with the extra weight of the kit, which will add about seven kilos and cause us to dehydrate a lot quicker due to the thick insulation of the clothing, but we have also set ourselves the mammoth target of raising £20,000 for Crimestoppers.

"Having Gavin and Kelly as support runners on the day will be vital, as one of the complications we have noticed during training is being able to take on-board water and energy tablets with the big gloves on – let alone holding an ice hockey stick with one hand!

"With less than a week to go, we are really looking forward to the day - it's going to hurt, however the sense of pride when crossing the line will be amazing."

Crimestoppers is an independent charity helping to find criminals and solve crimes. It plays an invaluable role by facilitating communication between the public and police, thereby helping to create safer neighbourhoods.

If you would like to sponsor the team in their endeavour, you can do so by visiting: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/IceHockey or by texting LION99 followed by the amount you wish to donate to 70070 e.g. LION99 £5.

The team has raised £7,000 so far thanks to generous donations from friends and family, the proceeds of a charity ice hockey match held in conjunction with the Guildford Flames last December, Six Nations Rugby and Grand National sweepstakes and cake sales.