LITTLE Maddie Waddington died five years ago, but no doubt her father Matthew remembered her every yard of the way during his recent fund-raising effort in her memory.

Matthew Waddington, an associate solicitor in the family law department at Worcestershire-based law firm Harrison Clark LLP, competed in a triathlon event in memory of Maddie, who had suffered from Wolf Hirschhorn syndrome.

The event, which took place in Windsor, Berkshire, and was called The Human Race, consisted of a mile swim, a 40 km bike ride and then a 10 km run. Mr Waddington completed the course in three hours and 21 minutes. He had spent six months training for the event so he could raise money for the Wolf Hirschhborn Support Group, a cause which is obviously very close to his heart.

Maddie died of this rare syndrome, which results from a missing fourth chromosome and means that children are usually profoundly disabled with a very short life expectancy.

Mr Waddington said: "Maddie died five years ago aged two, after her 86th visit to hospital. The support group really helped us when she was alive. So little is known of the disease that we were usually telling the doctors about it rather than the other way round."

Mr Waddington took part in the race with four other friends, who are all godfathers to each other's children, including Maddie's godfather Giles Desforges whose idea it was to take part in the Windsor triathlon.