A POLICE officer has finished the toughest race in the world just eight months after being diagnosed with cancer.

Sgt Grant McTaggart and his colleague PC Neil Johnson completed the Marathon des Sables – a 156 mile run through the Sahara Desert – at the end of April.

Sgt McTaggart said: “It was mental but it was brilliant. I knew it would be the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do but I thought my body would cope better than it did.”

The pair, who both work at the police training centre in Meadowfield, near Durham, signed up together in December 2013.

But months into their training, Sgt McTaggart was dealt a devastating blow when he was hospitalised while on holiday in France in August 2015 and was diagnosed with bowel cancer.

After undergoing surgery to remove a tumour, The 49-year-old, from Darlington, initially decided to defer his place in the notoriously gruelling race, but changed his mind after his swift recovery.

He started running again last November and by Christmas had decided to try the race anyway.

He said: “It was quite positive really because I was more motivated to succeed. I had four months to really knuckle down.

“I’ve done about a dozen marathons, an ultra marathon and three ironman triathlons so I knew I was fit enough but it’s all about how your body adapts to the conditions.

“It’s still quite raw how tough it was.”

The six day race starts in Morocco and as well as dealing with blister and dehydration, competitors face temperatures of up to 50 degrees during the day.

Sgt McTaggart has raised more than £3,000 for St Teresa’s Hospice while Sgt Johnson has raised around £1,200 for the Alzheimer’s Society.

PC Johnson, 36, from Chester-le-Street, said: “When Grant was ill it was a difficult thing and I had to make the decision whether to defer or not. At that point I decided to go by myself but it was lucky he made such a good recovery and was able to join us.

“It made a huge difference to me having him there. It’s a long way to go when you don’t know anybody and to see a familiar face was a big help.

“It was a fantastic experience – a once in a lifetime achievement. The hardest bit was doing 53 miles in one day. It felt like forever. After the sunset I was walking into emptiness for 10 hours. I started hallucinating and seeing things I was so tired.”