Twickenham-based Mo Farah broke the British 10km road running record in winning the second BUPA London 10km race on Sunday morning.

The European indoor 3,000m champion ran clear of Kenya’s Samuel Kosgei to cross the finishing line at The Mall in 27 minutes, 50 seconds, slicing five seconds off the British record set by Mark Scrutton in March 1984.

“I knew I was in really good shape – my training has been going really well,” said Farah, 26, who returned to Britain recently after six weeks of altitude work in Font Romeau.

“Samuel hung on for a long time. I knew I could out-kick him so I wasn’t worried, but I wanted a decent time, so I thought I would push on and get away.

“The crowd made a big difference, cheering all the way.

“My aim this summer is to get the British 5,000m record but, more importantly, I want to run well in the big championships.”

Farah made the most of the excellent conditions – overcast skies and a light breeze – as he knocked out consistent 2:40-2:45km splits.

Farah’s previous best over the distance was set when finishing third in the Great Manchester Run in 2007.

Belgrave Harriers’ Phil Wicks pipped Uganda’s Boniface Kiprop, the Commonwealth Games 10,000m champion, to finish fourth in 28:55.

That was just one second slower than his best time, set in winning the Bristol 10km event last month.

Twickenham-based Scott Overall was seventh (29:36), with Belgrave’s Mark Miles ninth (29:41) and Epsom-based Koyo Kyereme 13th in 31:37.

Herne Hill’s Brian Wilder was just behind in 31:48 with Belgrave’s Kassa Tadesse 23rd in 33:09.

Clapham Chasers’ Justina Heslop finished fifth in the women’s race (34:42), with Epsom & Ewell’s Emily Alden 12th (37:24) and Belgrave’s Zoe Vail 15th (38:35).

Meanwhile, Wicks has been selected to represent Great Britain in the European Cup 10,000m in Madeira on Saturday, June 6, his debut appearance over 25 laps of the track.