THE son of a popular man who drowned with his partner in a swimming pool has raised more than £1,300 for a drowning prevention charity by running a half marathon in his memory.

Steve Winfield ran the Worcester city half-marathon in memory of his late father, Martin Winfield, together with best friend Andy Faull on Sunday.

Mr Winfield, aged 39, of Chalmers Close, Worcester, ran in support of the Royal Life Saving Society UK (RLSS UK) which he said had been very supportive of his efforts.

One person dies every 20 hours in the UK and drowning is a leading cause of accidental death of children in the UK.

As previously reported in the Worcester News Martin Winfield and Alan Green, who had been planning to wed at a civil partnership ceremony, were found dead in the pool by Mr Winfield's three children at the couple's home in White Gates,Wichenford, between Worcester and Martley on July 3, 2015. The medical cause of death was drowning and a coroner recorded a conclusion of accidental death in both cases.

Mr Winfield said it was the first time had run a half marathon. He said: “I would not have got through that last mile without Andy. I literally fell into his arms and he carried me over the line. I got a bit emotional as all my family and friends were there. My original target was £500 then we went to £1,000. But we have smashed both of those. It looks like the final total will be closer to £1,500. It’s phenomenal.”

He said of his decision to support the charity: "Dad died on July 1 2015 with his partner Alan Green in a tragic accident in their swimming pool and I wanted to support this fantastic charity to help prevent accidents happening again."

The friends, both store managers at Tesco, were dressed as lifeguards during the run. When asked what his dad would have thought of them running a half marathon he said he would probably have ‘taken the mickey’ but would still have been proud of their efforts.

Mr Winfield will soon marry partner Emma Payne at St Nicholas Church in Warndon Villages and hopes to keep on running so he can keep in shape for his big day.

He said: “I love her and thank her for her support throughout to achieve completing the half marathon.”

To raise his total still further visit www.justgiving.com/fundraising/wini10popidolrunning