Leith is Lanark’s new braveheart

However, next month he will be making what is his fourth half-marathon sponsored walk around Lanark Loch in an act of deep gratitude to the people he credits with saving his life.

The well-known 66-year-old, of Kildare Drive, told the Gazette: “I remember the days when I used to go up the High Street and stop every few yards, pretending I was looking in a shop window.

“What I didn’t want people to see was how ill I was.”

That all changed in 2008 when he had an operation to insert a new cardiac valve and was given a double heart by-pass.

“It might be a cliche when guys who’ve been through that kind of operation say afterwards that they feel like an entirely new man,” he said. “However, it’s entirely true and that’s exactly how I feel.”

It was two years after that operation that Leith, a former local government officer and now a taxi driver, decided he was well enough to give thanks for his second chance of life by raising cash for the British Heart Foundation.

He is pictured here receiving a presentation from the charity’s Heather Gregory for his earlier fund-raising.

For more details of his next walk, pick up a copy of this week’s Carluke and Lanark Gazette.