A WOMAN whose brother died just days after passing out as a marine 25 years ago will cycle more than 500 miles in his memory.

Martin Craig, from Darwen, was 17 when he died in a motorbike accident on November 15, 1987.

He had passed out as a Royal Marine just two days earlier.

Now his sister, Emma Young, 39, will ride from the Royal Marines base at Lympstone, Devon, to the base in Arbroath, Scotland - a distance of about 570 miles.

She is raising money for the Royal Marines Charitable Trust.

She said: “It was a tragic accident, which is why I have been driven to do the bike ride.

“I still miss him. There aren’t many days when he doesn’t come into my thoughts at some point.

“But life is life and you just have to get on with it.”

Mrs Young, who now lives in Stockport with her husband and two children, said she was inviting people to join her.

She said: “I am starting the ride on Monday, August 13, and expect it will take about eight days.

“I am doing it on my own but calling for people to support me for a leg.

“People can join me for a day or half a day if they like and if they chip in for the charity.”

Mrs Young, a former pupil of St Cuthbert’s Primary School and St Wilfrid’s High School, Blackburn, left Darwen when she was 18 to join the Navy. She now lives near Stockport.

The siblings grew up at The Olde England Kiosk, Sunnyhurst Woods. Their parents, Elaine and Craig Gordon, now live at Chapels Brow.

To sponsor Mrs Young, visit www.justgiving.co.uk/lympstone-to-arbroath and if you want to join her, email emma@findshorty.com

  • A fundraising event is also being held at Hoddlesden Conservative Club on Friday, May 25.