Hiker completes meningitis walk in memory of brother who died

A woman has finished a 630 mile (1,014km) walk in memory of her brother who died from meningitis.

Charlotte Bresnahan set off from Minehead in Somerset on 5 September, arriving in Poole on Saturday which was World Meningitis Day, having walked the entire South West Coast Path.

Her brother Ryan was 16 when he died at his Bristol home an hour after complaining of an upset stomach in 2010.

"I was looking for something to mark my brother's 30th birthday, and it felt like a challenge to do the walk in 30 days," she said.

Ms Bresnahan has raised about £12,500 for the charity set up in memory of Ryan, called A Life For A Cure.

The charity funds vaccination research and awareness campaigns in the student population.

It has so far raised over raised £610,000 for research into the condition.

She said: "Meningitis can be confused as fresher's flu, so the awareness campaigns have been helpful with new university terms in September.

"All of the tools are there with vaccines now, and it's just making sure people are aware of the symptoms."

A vaccine against Meningitis B was introduced in the UK in 2015.

"I wanted to do something that would include friends and family that have supported us, but also to give myself time for my own thoughts to be close to Ryan," Ms Bresnahan said.

"The coastal path was the perfect fit, and we walked some of it going on family trips in the past."

Her walk was sponsored by Clifton College, the school both she and Ryan attended, and her employer Digital Radish.