Donations For Marathon Woman Top £650k

Donations made to the charity chosen by Claire Squires, who died during the London Marathon, have continued to flood in with the total raised topping £650,000.

The amount at the top of Miss Squire's JustGiving page does not include Gift Aid, which, pushes the total past £790,000.

More than 57,000 people have given money to the Samaritans via the page - a record number of donations, according to the website.

The 30-year-old hairdresser chose to raise money for the charity because her mother had volunteered for it for 24 years.

The runner collapsed in Birdcage Walk, near St James's Park, with the finishing line of the marathon just one bend away.

Donations have soared since the news of her death, increasing the amount raised from just £500 on Sunday.

Yesterday was a record-breaking day for JustGiving, which saw its most ever visits - and almost double the number of hits compared to Monday.

The average donation was £11, with more than 10,000 people donating at any one time.

The website said it would give its administration fee back to the Samaritans as a mark of respect.

The family of Miss Squires, who came from North Kilworth in Leicestershire, urged the public to "keep on giving" in a statement yesterday.

"On behalf of Claire's family and all those who knew and loved her - we would like to say thank you so much for everyone's support," they said.

"For Claire and the Samaritans, please keep the donations coming.

"Don't stop giving, just like her. It's what she would have wanted."

A keen fundraiser, Miss Squires had taken part in the Great North Run, an earlier marathon and climbed Kilimanjaro in aid of charity.

Miss Squires' death is the second tragedy for the family after her brother Grant died in 2001.

A coroner recorded an open verdict into the death of the 25-year-old, who was reportedly a drug user and had become depressed after being involved in a car crash in which his girlfriend was killed.

Tests to establish why Miss Squires collapsed as she neared the finish line are expected to take place in the coming days.

She is the 11th participant to die since the London Marathon began in 1981 and the first ever woman.