EIGHT dedicated cyclists have raised more than £20,000 for the Wiltshire Air Ambulance in memory of former Kings Lodge and Abbeyfield pupil Jamie Walker who died alongside his two friends in an horrific car crash near Devizes.

Jamie, 17, and his friends Frankie Bowyer, 16, and George Forester, 17, all from Chippenham, were killed after the car in which they were travelling home from a party hit a tree in Rowde on New Year's Eve in 2010.

Jamie was airlifted to the Great Western Hospital by the Wiltshire Air Ambulance but was dead on arrival.

In memory of the sport-mad Jamie, who played for FC Chippenham, Chippenham Town u18s and Chippenham Futsal team, his father Ian and seven friends rode from Westminster in London to Paris over three days in July.

Ian Walker, Rob Hand, D’Arcy Lawes, Jake Lawes, Jonathan Sinclair, Rupert Wastie, David Palmer and Melanie Guppy all cycled the 300 miles after clocking up an approximate 25,000 miles of training as a group.

Team Jamie, as they became know, were closely supported by Jamie’s mum Lisa, Vicki Porter, Andy Baldwin and Doug Bradshaw, preparing food stops, mechanical assistance and much needed physio.

Mr Walker, 46, of Hungerdown Lane, said: “We had our photos taken in Paris where we went on a family holiday when Jamie was very young. It was very emotional.

“It’s more that we could have wished for; we were not expecting to raise this amount of cash. To everyone who’s donated we are extremely grateful."

The group have been regularly raising money in memory of Jamie over the past few years holding two golf tournaments at Chippenham Golf Club and a football tournament at Stanley Park.

The Jamie Walker Sporting Challenges and a charity ball held at Lowden Garden Centre in Atworth helped raise £21,020.40.

Wiltshire Air Ambulance fundraising manager, Rebecca de la Bedoyere, said: “It’s truly a testament to their outstanding effort that they not only achieved their target of finishing the 300 mile route in just three days, they have also raised a phenomenal amount of money.

“It’s a fitting tribute to Jamie’s memory and will ensure that Wiltshire Air Ambulance can continue to be there for people across Wiltshire when they need us.”

The youngest rider on the trip was Jake Lawes, then just 16, who completed the marathon journey with his father D’Arcy.

Jake’s mother, Amanda, said: “Having a teenage son ourselves, our heart goes out to Lisa and Ian it’s every parent’s worst nightmare.

“D’Arcy has been keen to support every event to support the charity, if any of our children were in difficulty its reassuring to know these guys are there to help out.”