THE family and friends of a Bournemouth man who died of a heart attack aged 29 have raised more than £2,000 for needy youngsters in his memory.

In the weeks before his death, in May 2013, Nick Hughes had been preparing to run the Bournemouth Half Marathon.

Nick's mum, Lynne, told the Echo: "It was the first year of the half marathon and he was planning to run it with his friend, Spencer Griffin, who has an autistic child who attends Winchelsea School in Poole."

To honour his friend, Spencer decided to complete the half marathon in his memory, and Team Nick was born.

Team Nick, consisting of Nick's sister, Amy, his cousins and friends, now enters the half marathon every year to raise funds for Winchelsea School, which cares for pupils, aged 4-16, with a wide range of learning difficulties.

At a recent presentation, Team Nick handed the Poole school a cheque for more than £2,000, which will go towards building a new play area for the children.

"This is all on Nick's behalf," explained Lynne. "We have tried to make something good out of a really bad thing. It is something Nick wanted to do, and we are going to run every year now.

"We were invited to the school to look around and they've decided to put the money towards a new equipment and a play area, a special area in loving memory of Nick.

"We will contribute every year from now on - Team Nick is going from strength to strength."

Meanwhile, a Winchelsea School spokesman said: "Team Nick presented Winchelsea with a cheque for £2090. We are very proud of their efforts and very grateful for their generous fundraising."