A deputy editor from a weekly newspaper will carry out a charity trek later this year in memory of a friend who died in a road accident last month.

Kevin Unitt, left, from the Rugby Observer will carry out a 28-mile hike at Hadrian’s Wall in June to raise money for road safety charity Brake after the death of his schoolfriend Dean Spalding.

Dean was killed in December in a collision between two vehicles in the Husband’s Bosworth area of Leicestershire in which a young woman also died and Kevin paid a moving tribute to him.

Kevin now hopes to raise at least £500 by taking part in the Hadrian’s Wall Trekathon in June which is normally 26 miles but he will add a further two miles to make it 28 – the age Dean would have been this year.

He said: “Every day six families in the UK are told their loved one has been killed in a road crash.

“I am doing this 26-mile trek in memory of one of my best friends for many years, Dean ‘Spillo’ Spalding, who was tragically killed in one such crash in December 2010, aged just 27.

“I am planning to add a further two miles to the trek to make it 28 miles, marking the age he would have been this year.

“I am looking to raise as much money as possible for Brake, a charity which provides expert and sensitive support to people whose lives have been devastated by a death or serious injury on the road. £500 seems a challenging but realistic target, though I hope to raise more.

“I know a 26-mile hike perhaps does not represent the very toughest of challenges but I would point out I often drive the 0.4 miles to work each day at the moment! And I hope this event will be a stepping-stone to further, bigger, challenges.”

To sponsor Kevin, visit his JustGiving page.