Two brothers are preparing to run a half marathon in memory of their teenage step-sister who sadly passed away last year.

Greg and Ben Cohen are gearing up to take part in the Tonbridge half-marathon in a bid to raise funds for Demelza House Children's Hospice where their step-sister, Charlotte Craggs died and previously received respite whilst recovering from cancer.

Charlotte, who lived in Loose, Maidstone, died in her sleep on Thursday, October 12 after a life long battle with illness. She was born deaf and with Rothmund-Thomson syndrome, a rare condition which can cause skeletal abnormalities.

The disease made the 18-year-old prone to skin and bone cancer which she was diagnosed with in 2011. She was determined to beat it and succeed but her family were devastated when she caught an infection in hospital and despite treatment could not be saved.

Greg, 24 who lives in Oprington with Ben, 22 said: "Demelza were so excellent in looking after Charlotte before she sadly passed away last year.

"Those at the hospice gave tremendous amounts of time, compassion and dedication to her, and do so for all the children that they help" - Greg Cohen

"This is simply the least we can do to show our gratitude."

The brothers will be running the course along country lanes throughout Tonbridge and Leigh.

They had originally set their fundraising target at £500, but have nearly doubled this with their total currently standing at £900 on their JustGiving page - which was set up less than a month ago.

Greg, who works as a marketing consultant for a magazine in London, said: "I'm so surprised at the generosity of people. It's incredible how much money we've raised and it just keeps going up. We want to raise as much as possible for Demelza.

"Those at the hospice gave tremendous amounts of time, compassion and dedication to her, and do so for all the children that they help" - Greg Cohen

"I've been training as much as I can in preparation but I'm quite a keen runner anyway."

A friend of the brothers, Shaun Carter has also joined them and will be running the half-marathon on Sunday, September 28.

In December last year Charlotte's brothers – Matthew, 10, Alex, seven, and Oliver, five, – paid tribute to their sister in Boughton Monchelsea’s production of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

The Rev Geoff Davis, who conducted Charlotte’s funeral, also starred in the festive production and all of the funds raised were donated to Demelza children’s hospice.

To donate visit: https://www.justgiving.com/CohenBros/