The families of four victims of the so-called Grindr killer Stephen Port are a step closer to getting the specialist legal support they want ahead of a second inquest into their loved ones' deaths.

A fundraising campaign to raise £10,000 to pay for top solicitors to oversee the proceedings has smashed its target.

It comes two years after 43-year-old Port was sentenced to life imprisonment for the rape and murders of four young men at his flat in Barking between 2014 and 2015.

The body of Daniel Whitworth, 21, of Nine Elms Road, Gravesend, was dumped in a churchyard in Barking, Essex, by Stephen Port after he had drugged and raped him in 2014.

At an inquest in June 2015, it was ruled Mr Whitworth and Gabriel Kovari, who was found in the same spot a month before, died after overdosing on GHB and methadone.

Last November the inquest verdicts were quashed and earlier this month new hearings were ordered into all four deaths.

They will take place next year.

When his body was found, a suicide note found in former Dartford Grammar pupil Mr Whitworth’s possession stated he blamed himself after accidentally administering a fatal dose of GBH to his lover Mr Kovari during an orgy.

But after their deaths were linked to those of Anthony Walgate and Jack Taylor, Port was eventually charged with and convicted of four counts of murder.

Mr Whitworth’s suicide note had been forged by him.

At Port's trial, a number of failures in the police’s handling of the investigation were flagged up.

An Independent Office for Police Conduct was ordered into the actions of 17 officers involved in the case, and it was recently revealed that a 380-page report will now be made available to the families of the four men.

The Met is now investigating 58 drug-related deaths from the years before Port was finally brought to justice.

Mr Whitworth’s step-mother Mandy Pearson, of Cobham Terrace, Greenhithe, has previously spoken about her continuing fight for justice.

Under the banner ‘Justice for our Murdered Boys’ the families had set up a crowd-funding campaign.

The initiative has smashed its £10,000 target within a few weeks of being launched, with the total sitting at more than £12,000.

Ms Pearson said: “When we first started this, we didn’t even know if reaching the target would be possible. So as you can imagine we’re all delighted to have exceeded the target with the help of so many generous people.

"On behalf of all the families, I’d like to say a heartfelt thank you to everyone for their support.

"We’re all on a long journey, but we’re determined to see justice prevail."

The families have decided to keep the campaign open for another month.

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