The 100-strong group walked from Roker Pier to South Shields in memory of Liam Gash, 22, who died while back-packing around Australia in August 2006.

Just days earlier, doctors had diagnosed Liam with little-known Marfan syndrome after he complained of chest pains while working on a building site.

Parents Alan and Jane flew out to be at his bedside as he recovered from open-heart surgery, but their only son died 72 hours later.

Since then his sister Lucy, 20, has spearheaded a fund-raising drive to raise money and awareness of Marfan syndrome.

Alan, 51, of Ullswater Grove, Fulwell, said: "This is the second year that Lucy has organised the walk and it was a really good turnout again.

"It's uplifting to see so many people turning up when the easiest thing would have been to stay in bed."

Money raised from the event will go towards the £41,000 that the family has already raised for the Marfan Association UK and the Marfan Trust, which supports medical research.



Liam towered over his pals at 6ft 10in, but no one realised that his height was a symptom of a life-threatening condition. The former Monkwearmouth School pupil had classic Marfan symptoms – excessive height, clawed toes, long fingers and flexible joints – but he had never been given a diagnosis.

Lucy, a nurse at Sunderland Royal Hospital, is planning to make the walk an annual event and is selling tickets for a charity ball at Legends bar in Sunderland.

She said: "The support we've had has been fantastic. There's money coming in all the time from things like the Boxing Day dip and the Great North Run."

• The charity ball is on September 27. Anyone interested in attending can email
  Katy Wheeler and their details will be forwarded to the Gash family.

Diagnosis could help save lives

Marfan syndrome is a disorder of the body's connective tissue that affects the heart, eyes and skeleton.

Although sufferers can live with the eye and skeleton problems, the effects on the heart can be fatal.

There are 10,000 patients with Marfan syndrome in the UK alone, and more than a third die in early adulthood.

But many deaths could be prevented with early diagnosis and treatment.