Tragic Marathon Runner: Total Raised Tops £1m

Donations to the charity supported by Claire Squires, the runner who died during the London Marathon, have reached more than £1m after a huge wave of support from well-wishers.

Miss Squires collapsed in Birdcage Walk, near Buckingham Palace, just before the finish line on Sunday.

Her death triggered a flurry of donations to the JustGiving page she had set up to raise money for the Samaritans.

The total, including tax relief through the Government's gift aid scheme, hit the £1m mark on Friday.

Samaritans, which Miss Squires' mother volunteered with for 24 years, has created a tribute fund for the money raised and said it was "truly humbled" by the flood of donations since her death.

A friend of Miss Squires, of North Kilworth, Leicestershire, said she would have been "overwhelmed" by the amount of money raised in her name.

Nicola Short, who climbed Mount Kilimanjaro with Miss Squires last year in aid of the Royal Air Forces Association (RAFA), raising £1,500, told BBC Breakfast: "She'd be going 'woo hoo', excited."

Miss Squires was the 11th runner to die since the London Marathon began in 1981.

She collapsed one bend away from the finish line of the 26.2 mile course.

Miss Squires will be buried on Wednesday in North Kilworth next to her brother Grant, who died in 2001 aged 25.