A running reverend from South Croydon has won a Guiness World Record for the third time after raising £2.3m for charity in a single race.

Rev Steve Chalke MBE beat his own previous record of £1.85m to earn a new entry in the record book for the most amount of money raised by a single marathon runner.

He raised the amazing sum for Oasis UK by completing the Virgin London Marathon in London on April 17.

The 55-year-old, who lives in St Augustine Avenue, first became the official Guinness World Record holder in 2005, when he raised £1.25 million for Oasis' work with schools in disadvantaged communities.

His record was beaten the following year by Sir Steve Redgrave, who raised over £1.78 million, but in April 2007 Mr Chalke reclaimed his title by raising more than £1.85 million.

He said: "Sir Steve Redgrave gave up when I broke his record, he said to me, 'I'll never beat you'."

But when he crossed the finish line at this year's London Marathon, he beat his own record for the third time, raising more than £2.3 million.

Mr Chalke is the founder of the Oasis Trust, which has developed into a group of charities delivering housing, youth work and healthcare.

He said the money would be used to ensure extra pastoral care and support for the young people attending Oasis Academy schools, two of which are in Croydon.

He said: "Every single penny of the money raised is going into work in our academies. The money will simply allow us to provide extra support and facilities for our students.

"The money will also be used to pay for more pastoral staff, having the staff that are involved in the pastoral care of our students both inside and outside of school hours and that is what makes the difference."

Mr Chalke said the secret of his success was his motivation to meet his £2 million goal.

He said: "I didn't want to run the marathon I wanted to raise £2 million, that was my prime motivation and it makes a huge difference.

"It meant I had to find the best possible way of raising as much money as I could."