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, ran the Bath Half Marathon in his memory.

Mr Edwards, 32, of Derry Hill, was himself a very good runner and had planned to take part in the half marathon himself.

Brother Will Edwards, 36, who owns First Step Gym in Corsham, said: “Everybody got Team Tom T-shirts so for the whole 13 miles we had people chanting 'Go on Tom', which was really inspiring.

"It was amazing to be running knowing you were raising money for a great group of people, and in memory of my brother.

“He would have loved everyone running for him. He would have loved to have been able to be there and do it himself, and he probably would have been the first one of us back home as well.”

He said it was a difficult day especially for Tom’s mum and wife, who were there cheering them on from the sidelines.

His disappearance after a night out in Swindon on June 28 prompted a five-day search.

Mr Edwards is amazed at the amount the Run For Tom team have raised for the Wiltshire search and rescue charity WILSAR, more than £8,800 so far.

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 completed the course on Sunday in 1 hour 50 and raised just over £1,050, joined by friends Tom Wilmot, Will Walder, Wayne Bond and Michael Freegard.

He said: “Tommy was always into Iron Man events and we agreed to do it in May last year. I think he would have been proud I carried on and did it, but particularly of Tom and Will for finishing because they’re not really runners.”

Donate at https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/runfortom and www.virginmoneygiving.com/Jason77king