KEVIN Wells, the father of murdered schoolgirl Holly Wells, raised nearly �8,000 for the Grief Encounter Project when he completed the London Marathon.

Kevin, 48, is the patron of the charity that helped support his family after Holly and her friend Jessica Chapman were murdered by school caretaker Ian Huntley 10 years ago.

On his JustGiving website - which is still open for donations - Kevin, who lives in Soham, wrote: “After losing my daughter Holly in 2002, I both witnessed and experienced the effects that bereavement and the uninvited grieving process can have on your life and your future.

“At Grief Encounter, our role is to provide bereaved children with an understanding of what and how to deal with their circumstances and emotions in order to secure a chance to move forwards and regain a sense of purpose and direction.”

This was Kevin’s first marathon, and he completed the gruelling 26-mile course around the capital in five hours, four minutes and 58 seconds, alongside his friend Rob Wright.

To make a donation on line, go to www.Justgiving.com/Kevin-Wells or text LOSS11 with the amount you wish to donated, to 70070.

Another Soham man who successfully completed the London marathon was Jeremy Reader, who hopes to raise �500 for charity after recording a time of four hours, 16 minutes and 43 seconds.

Jeremy, 37, runs JK Memorials in the town, and is collecting cash for Dreams Come True and the Soham-based charity Molyn Care.

Jeremy has also raised thousands of pounds for Meningitis UK since he recovered from the disease back in 2001.

He said: “It was a good time for me, considering I’ve been struggling with injury. I hope to have another chance next year, once you’ve got the marathon bug, you’ve got it. I’ve still got about 50 days to collect the money.”

Go to www.jkmemorials.co.uk and visit Jeremy’s fund raising page to donate.