The Mayor of Amebury, Steve Dayman and Steve Fear with pupils of Christ the King School. 28/10/04PUPILS at Christ the King School, in Amesbury, emptied their pockets of loose change on Wednesday last week, as charity walkers passed through the town raising funds for meningitis research.

The walkers were on their way to Lyme Regis, in Dorset, as part of a mammoth 36-day, 770-mile marathon walk in aid of Spencer Dayman Meningitis UK.

It began on Saturday, September 18, in Peterhead, Aberdeenshire, and was due to finish on Sunday.

Taking part were the charity's chief executive, Steve Dayman, who lost his 14-month-old son, Spencer, to meningitis and meningococcal septicaemia in November 1982.

He was accompanied by fellow marathon man Steve Fear, who has actively supported the meningitis cause since losing his 16-year-old niece to meningitis in 1994.

Amesbury was one of the towns they chose to pass through to spell out in placenames the second-most common form of meningitis - pneumococcal.

The other towns and villages were Peterhead, Netherley, Earlsferry, Uphall, Moffat, Otley, Cleckheaton, Oldcotes, Chesterfield, Cirencester and Lyme Regis.

Steve Dayman said: "This is the 16th marathon walk that I have undertaken for the meningitis cause and I am continuously overwhelmed by the generosity of the people we meet along the route.

"I cannot thank them enough for their valued support.

"We believe that research and education are key to beating meningitis and meningococcal septicaemia and, with the help of the general public, we can achieve this."

By Wednesday last week, the two Steves had raised £68,000 for the charity.

They were hoping this figure would top the £100,000 mark by the time all the sponsorship money had come in.

Anyone wishing to make a donation towards this target can contact the charity, on 01173 737373, or log on to its website, at www.spencerdayman.org.uk.