THE brother and best friends of Tom Edwards, who went missing for five days from Swindon before he was found dead by the side of a railway line in Chippenham last summer, ran the Bath Half in his memory.

Tom, 32, of Derry Hill, was a 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.”

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

Tom’s disappearance after a night out in Rudi’s in Swindon town centre on June 28 prompted a five-day search. He had been out with colleagues from Nationwide, where he worked as a financial analyst.

Will said he was amazed at the amount the Run For Tom team have raised for the Wiltshire search and rescue charity WILSAR, which so far stands at more than £8,800.

To donate, go to https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/runfortom Jason King, 36, of Chippenham, was due to run the half marathon alongside Tom 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 www.virginmoneygiving.com/Jason77king