The brother and best friends of Tom Edwards, who was missing for five days before he was found dead by the side of a railway line in Chippenham last summer, are running the Bath Half Marathon in his memory.

Jason King, 36, of Spanbourn Avenue, Chippenham, was due to run the half marathon with Mr Edwards for the Forever Friends Appeal at the Royal United Hospital, Bath.

He said: “Tom’s death was devastating for all of his friends and family. We were due to run the half marathon together so I thought it was only right to carry on and do it.”

He will be joined by two other close friends, Tom Wilmot and Will Walder. Mr King said: “The four of us were very close. We went on holiday together and went out together all the time. We will all be thinking about Tom when we are running.”

Mr King trains at First Step Gym in Corsham, which is run by Mr Edwards’ brother Will, who will also take part in the race with a group of about 20 gym users.

The Run For Tom team will be raising money for the Wiltshire search and rescue charity WILSAR.

Will Edwards, 36, said: “Until Tom disappeared I had never heard of WILSAR but they were terrific during the search for him and I wanted to do something to raise money for them. Tom and I were very close and we all miss him. He was very sporty so doing the half marathon seems a fitting tribute.”

Tom Edwards’ widow Dee will be at the race with Mr King’s wife Ebony and daughter Emma, two, to cheer on the fundraisers.

Mr Edwards, 32, of Derry Hill, went missing after a night out in Swindon on June 28 and was found after a five-day search by friends, family and police on July 3. He was seen on the night of his disappearance by officers in Church Place, Swindon.

CCTV footage from Swindon railway station showed Mr Edwards boarding a train to Bristol Temple Meads and his body was found close to the railway line between Chippenham and Bath. An inquest is expected to take place in March. To donate, go to https:// mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/ runfortom