He also claimed to have served in the SAS and attended events wearing medals and a beret, the court heard.

Buckden, 44, from Leeds, spoke publicly about his experiences of growing up in care, his time in the Army and PTSD.

He took part in the Olympic torch relay in the run up to the 2012 London Olympic Games and began a fundraising challenge to run 100 marathons in 100 weeks.

In 2012, he told his former partner he had been diagnosed with terminal rectal cancer, the court heard.

He went on to tell a number of people about the diagnosis and his marathon challenge, including friends, his new partner, newspapers and business people.

As a result, he received thousands of pounds worth of money and services from businesses for courses, therapy sessions, a holiday, a publicity film and to set-up a PTSD enterprise.

Mr Hassall said: "In light of what he said about his diagnosis, people were, naturally, moved by his story and moved to try to help him.

"Here was a man who was making a valiant effort to raise funds for charity, running 100 marathons in 100 weeks, who had, in the middle of all of that, been cruelly struck down with cancer.