Katie Evans was killed aged just a 21 when she was a passenger in a speeding car being driven by a drunk driver. Her family raised over £6,000 for Brake by hosting an evening in her memory on the first anniversary of her death.

Helen Evans, Katie’s mother, says: “We want to say a big thank you to everyone who attended Katie’s evening, and to say a special thank you to those who helped to raise funds. The evening was a great success, and it would not have been possible to raise such a fantastic amount of money without everyone’s kind support and generous donations. We hope that the money raised goes someway in helping to support other families who have tragically suffered the death of a child on the roads.”

The evening took place at Flixton Dance Studios in Urmston where Katie used to go for adult street dancing lessons. All of Katie’s family were present, including her brother, Mark and sister, Lyndsey who are twins. Katie’s friends and work colleagues also attended. Funds were raised on the evening from a raffle and an auction. Raffle tickets where sold by three of Katie’s closest friends, Beverley, Charlotte and Louise. Prizes and auction items ranged from toiletries and vouchers to football memorabilia and a mountain bike.

Katie’s sister Lyndsey donned a pair of pink angel wings and sold Brake’s pin badges and raised over £200. Other contributors to funds raised were Linda Payne, a district nurse who swam the channel distance over a period of weeks and raised £600 and Colin Upton who swam 100 lengths and raised £125. Four of Katie’s friends, Steven Johnson, Martin Pearce, David Everall and Dale Farnell did the three peaks challenge and raised over £1000.

At the end of the evening, Katie’s parents Helen and Barrie Evans, her brother Mark and sister Lyndsey and Katie’s closest friends walked to the site of the crash with candles, balloons and flowers and placed them at the tree where Katie was killed.