Charity walkers help fight killer bug

Supporters of Meningitis UK's 16-day charity walk set off from Bridlington on Saturday and Beverley yesterday, with Steve Dayman, the charity's chief executive, planning to complete all 334 miles between Bridlington and Brighton.

Among those leaving Beverley was David Merridan, 48, from Hull, whose daughter Grace died from meningoencephalitis, an acute swelling of the brain and its lining.

She would have been celebrating her 16th birthday on yesterday. Mr Merridan said: "Although it's tough and the whole family is struggling to come to terms with what happened, we feel that we need to do something positive in her memory."

The charity is the only one in the UK solely committed to meningitis vaccine development and hopes to raise 50,000.