A FATHER has completed a 62 mile walk in memory of his beloved son who bravely battled brain cancer for years.

Andy Thorne, from Shoebury, was joined by three friends for the trek from Shoebury to the Warner Bros Studio Tour London, in Leavesden, for his son Mitchell, who died when he was 18.

It took them about three days.

Andy said: "Walking 25 miles on day one was the killer.

"I wasn't expecting it to be so hard.

"I could hardly walk with blisters and muscle pain but had to keep going. Day two, when we walked from Brentwood to Enfield was the unexpected easier day.

"I still had painful blisters but the legs were working ok.

"The third day required us to dig deep to keep going. Fortunately we had music in the pack so we sung and danced our way to the Harry Potter Studios.

"We must have looked quite funny walking along sing and dancing.

"We arrived at 3pm on the Friday as we had planned.

"We were welcomed by family and friends but sadly no one was there to meet and greet us from the studios.

"So far we've raised £6,700 for The Teenage Cancer Trust, way more than our target of £5,000, with donations still pouring in.

"I am not afraid to admit it, we're all pretty proud of ourselves."

Andy was joined by his friends David Elliott, of Norfolk, Russell Hardy, of Hertfordshire, and Peter Walker, of Rayleigh, for the event.

Andy said Mitchell was a big Harry Potter fan and loved the books.

Mitchell became ill in 2009 with cancer at the base of the brain where it meets the spine.

He had an operation as well as radiotherapy and chemotherapy.

It came back twice and he had a second operation and treatment. In the end the family were told he could have stem cell treatment which was tough for him but it didn’t work.

He died on Valentine’s Day 2016.

The father said they spent the final eight months of his son’s life together trying to fit as much in as possible.

He said his son, who attended St Thomas More High School for Boys, Westcliff, was very positive and strong.

The group left for the walk on August 22.

Visit justgiving.com/fundraising/mitchell-thorne