THE brother of a Hampshire man who was found dead has raised £3,000 in his memory.

Steven Lockyer, 59, was declared missing in May last year and his body was found in a Romsey field in February.

Steven’s brother Paul, joined by his other sibling Tony, has raised £3,000 for two charities after a motorbike ride from John o’ Groats in Scotland to Land’s End in Cornwall in a 1,950-mile journey.

Over the course of a week, Paul Bowles, 52, and his wife Tracy, 46, completed the journey from April 14-20, averaging more than 260 miles each day.

With a target of £5,000, the couple, now living in Anfield, Liverpool, each chose a charity, with Missing People and the Merseyside Jewish Community Care (MJCC) set to benefit from the £3,000 currently raised.

Paul, a crane driver, said: “Whatever we can raise will do some good, Missing People do such important work and you don’t hear about them that often unless you really look into what they do.

“We have raised £2,000 online and another £1,000 through my work so it will help a lot. £5,000 is a good target so hopefully we can get a little closer. It’s a great tribute to Steven’s life.”

The couple used to live in Romsey before moving to Liverpool 12-and-a-half years ago.

Tracy, a cleaner, said: “When we first planned the route Steven was still missing and then of course we got the news that he had passed away.

“It felt more important to carry on. What we were planning to do was visit these places and put posters up, because he could have gone to Scotland or anywhere else. When we found out, we debated whether to change, but decided to stick to what we were going to do.

“Paul wanted to raise for Missing People, and although I’m not Jewish, I wanted to donate to MJCC because a lot of my clients use the service and they do great work.”

The MJCC provides support and care for the Jewish community, with various houses set up around the country.

An inquest into the death of Steven Lockyer will be held by senior Hampshire coroner Grahame Short in Winchester on June 19.

To donate to the cause, visit sponsorme.co.uk/tracybowles/biking-challenge.