A KIND-hearted fundraiser ran a marathon in one of River Reeves’ favourite cities to help his family mark what would have been his 21st birthday.

Eleanor Jones tackled the New York Marathon to raise money for the River Reeves Foundation, which was set up to help talented young people achieve their dreams.

River would have celebrated his 21st birthday on December 14 and to honour the day his family are hoping to raise £21,000 in his memory.

Eleanor, who works at Stockton Heath Wine Bar, said she met River’s dad and stepmum, Ben and Sharon Dunne, after the tragic accident in which Viola Beach and their manager died.

And she fundraised to pay anonymously for the guitars that were recovered from the crash to be refurbished and handed back to the family.

She has been supporting the foundation ever since and said: “It’s a really inspirational cause. It’s heartbreaking to lose anybody and this is a lovely way to keep his memory alive. It will benefit talented young people like River so it’s a really special charity.

“When Sharon and Ben told me about the Big 2-1 Project I knew I wanted to run the marathon for them. I love Sharon, she’s amazing, she’s as nutty as me.

“I’m a proper Warrington girl so I really wanted to support the foundation, I love my town.”

Eleanor chose the New York Marathon because the Big Apple was one of River’s favourite places and his family had told her that the city’s skyline was one of the last things he had been looking at on his laptop.

She even went to the top of the Empire State Building where she played Viola Beach’s songs to visitors.

She said: “Their music is so good and it should be heard all over the world.

“I told lots of people about the foundation while I was there because I felt honoured to be running for them and to spread the word about Viola Beach.

“Sometimes you just have to believe you can do something and you will achieve it. Nothing is impossible and I feel that is definitely in the spirit of the River Reeves Foundation.”

Eleanor was in the city at the time of the terror attack in which eight people were killed and she was locked in a sports shop for four hours while the city was on lockdown.

But she said nothing would stop her from taking part in the marathon and supporting the charity.

And her next challenge is to climb Ben Nevis with a group of friends for the foundation.

To get involved with the Big 2-1 Project visit riverreevesfoundation.org/big-21-project and to find out more about Riv's Runners visit the Facebook page.