INSTRUCTORS at a Stroud martial arts school are running the town's half-marathon on Sunday to raise money for Cancer Research UK after a student's mother died of the illness in June.

Amy Dean, 17, from Horsley, has been attending the Steve Pearson School of Martial Arts for ten years and both her mother and father helped out at the club.

But Amy's father, Tom, sadly died five years ago of an aneurysm, when he was in his 50s, and her mother, Celia, passed away this year at the age of 49 after suffering from cancer for several years.

Amy said: "I was really grateful when they said they were going to raise money in my mother's memory, I didn't think they would go to these lengths for us, but it was a really nice gesture."

After caring for her mother for a number of years, Amy, who is a black belt at Tae Kwon Do, now looks after her younger sister, Molly, 12, and attends Hartpury College in Gloucester, studying horticulture and landscape gardening.

"I kept going to the club every week while my mum was ill because it was a bit of a relief going there," she said.

Steve Pearson, 40, who is running the race in memory of Celia along with Mark Dearnley, 28, Kirsty Purshouse, 28, and Marcus Young, 22, said none of the group have done much running before.

"People think we're going to find it easy because we are already very fit, but it's a different kind of fitness - but it's for a good cause so we've been pretty determined.

"Amy's dad used to take the register at the beginning of the classes and her mum helped out as well so the family had a close connection with the club. We thought it would be nice to raise money in her memory."

Anyone wanting to sponsor the group should call Steve on 07881 558091.