Where is it? The mystery of the missing Big Ben costume seen online by millions

A London Marathon runner who went viral after struggling to cross the finish line in his Big Ben costume lost the outfit at the pub just hours after the race finished.

Lukas Bates, 30, went viral when a video was shared online of him struggling to cross the finish line dressed as the famous London landmark on Sunday.

The video shows Mr Bates reaching he finish, but unable to fit beneath the overhead scoreboard. A race-steward had to help him across the line after several failed attempts.

He went to celebrate completing the marathon at The Old Shades pub near Trafalgar Square, leaving the 10-foot costume outside and gifting it to the landlord.

The pub’s CCTV cameras captured a group of runners appearing to take the costume and calmly walking away.

Jono Gregorius, general manager at The Old Shades pub, told ITV London: “It’s gone walkabout. One of our bookings as they were leaving have taken it and just plodded off up the street.

“It’s pretty big, but I don’t think we’ll get it back.”

Members of the Ashington Hirst Running Club have since admitted to taking the costume to take selfies with,before dropping it off at a nearby bar.

Mr Bates said he doesn’t hold a grudge against the runners,but would like to find the costume to auction it off for charity.

He went viral when the video of him crossing the line, which has now been viewed millions of times online, was shared on social media.

The video has been watched more than seven million times on Twitter alone.

Mr Bates told ITV London: “I looked through a list of potential record attempts and Big Ben seemed like a good idea.

“I was thinking there’s going to be no problems at all – I’ve done the hard bit. When it happened, I realised what had happened, but I couldn’t really see particularly well because my costume was pointed down at this point.

“There’s obviously a fanfare of sounds around me with everyone finishing and it was all very confusing.”

Mr Bates, an experienced marathon runner, was attempting to break the world record for a runner dressed as a landmark building.

He missed out on the record, with his time of three hours,54 minutes and 21 seconds ultimately 20 minutes slower than Richard Mietz’s record.

You can donate to Mr Bates’fundraising page here.