FRIENDS of Tom Edwards have donated more than £2,800 to the charity which spent hundreds of hours searching for him after his disappearance.

Tom died at the age of 32 when he fell from the carriage of a moving train between Chippenham and Bath in June last year, but colleagues and friends at Nationwide in Swindon have been raising money in his memory.

The Derry Hill resident was the subject of a five-day search, led by Wiltshire Search and Rescue (WILSAR).

The work done by WILSAR searching for Tom for more than 620 volunteer hours was praised by his family and the organisation was subsequently chosen by his colleagues as their charity of the year.

The last fundraising effort before the handover was a sprint triathlon at Nuffield Health’s Fitness & Wellbeing Centre, in Greenbridge Retail Park.

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Tom Edwards

Tom was known as a keen triathlete, who had completed the Ironman event, and 15 of his colleagues, including Craig Williams and Clive Green, completed a 500m swim, 22.5km bike ride and 5km run at Nuffield.

“I always thought there was something we could do to remember him, and raise some money for charity,” said Craig.

“I thought I might want to do a triathlon because Tom did an Ironman triathlon and WILSAR helped find him.”

Clive, who was the manager of Tom’s team at the time of his disappearance, wsas involved with the initial search.

He said fundraising had been a long road of cake sales and raffles.

A £500 boost came from Nationwide itself as part of its employee-match scheme.

WILSAR has confirmed the sum, the largest single donation it has received in 2014, has been used to fund new livery for a vehicle and trailer, as well as new equipment and technical jackets for every volunteer.

It has already benefited from significant contributions from Tom’s brother Will too, who led a series of fundraisers, including attracting a big sum off the back of this year’s Bath Half Marathon.

Gail Leaman, chair of WILSAR, said: “We can’t survive without it. We have no paid people at all. Most people pay for their own equipment.

“We were called on the weekend that Tom went missing and we started the search after being briefed by police. We are extra boots on the ground and extra assistance. They will always call us for vulnerable, missing people.”

Tom’s friends plan to make the indoor triathlon an annual event, with more charities in mind to remember him.