Schoolboy's idea after best friend's death inspires national road safety fundraising campaign

A fundraiser, set up by an 11 year-old after his best friend was killed while cycling, has reportedly been so successful it's now being used across the UK by Brake, the road safety charity, to raise cash to prevent more tragedies and provide support to bereaved relatives.

Daniel Climance was just 11 when he was killed while out on a family bike ride with his dad and brother in Purton, in Wiltshire last June.

Daniel's best friend Callum Smart and his mum Claire, decided they wanted to do something positive to keep Daniel's memory alive and so, to raise money for Brake, they launched a "virtual run" fundraising event entitled "Doing it for Dan". Within weeks, hundreds of people had signed up across the world, all promising to run "for Dan". Throughout 2015, 1,000 people ran a combined distance of 5,000 miles, raising over £20,000 for Brake's life-saving work.

Brake, a national road safety charity dedicated to preventing road deaths and injuries and supporting those bereaved or injured in road crashes, has been so impressed with the "Doing it for Dan - Virtual Run" idea, that the community fundraising team have decided, with permission from Daniel's family, to adopt the idea as part of their 2016 fundraising initiative.

Brake is now encouraging people to sign up to take part in their own Virtual Runs that will be taking place this May.

So, what is a Virtual Run?

Joe Fenton, fundraiser at Brake, the road safety charity explains: "Throughout May 2016 Brake's asking people to commit to doing a run. You can choose the date, the location, the distance you want to run and you can even set your own pace. The idea is that it is YOUR run – which is a wonderful concept as it means that anybody and everybody can take part – because what you do, is up to you. Every runner pays a one-off registration fee to Brake and many participants are also choosing to get sponsored for taking part. For more information, visit www.brake.org.uk/virtualrun."

Claire Smart says: "I feel so honoured that Brake has chosen to mirror our Virtual Run idea, with Daniel's story at the heart of their safety crusade. It's wonderful to see how powerful the message is and how much it has united people and got them all talking about road safety. I'm hoping more and more people will join Brake's Virtual Run and help raise money and save lives".

All money raised from Brake's Virtual Run will go towards their life-saving work which includes providing essential support services for families who are devastated by death or injury on roads, and campaigning to prevent casualties and make communities safer.