AN OXFORDSHIRE dad is running 365 miles in 365 days in memory of his two sons.

Paul Masters from Chinnor will be raising money for the three charities – Helen & Douglas House, SSNAP and the Oxford Hospitals Charity – who helped his family through the loss of his twins last summer.

He said: “August 5, 2020 was meant to be the happiest day of our lives. Our twin boys James and Ryan were finally making their way into the world.

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"Little did we know that events had already taken an awful turn.

"When trying to locate our boys heartbeats before the planned c-section they were unable to find a heartbeat for our biggest twin (James) the heartbeat for our smaller twin (Ryan) was low."

Oxford Mail: Paul Masters with his son Ryan.Paul Masters with his son Ryan.

His wife Siobhan and the twins were rushed into emergency surgery, Mr Masters said: "Over the next 30 minutes we would learn James was sadly born sleeping and Ryan although still with us was in a very serious condition.”

He said Ryan was moved to the John Radcliffe and after five days and he and his wife finally had to make the 'heart-breaking decision to let him go and join his brother'.

But when the machines keeping him alive were removed, he kept breathing for several days on his own, allowing his parents more time to say goodbye.

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Mr Masters said: "We got transferred to Helen & Douglas House children’s hospice to spend what we knew were the final hours/days with Ryan.

"The reason I am doing this fundraiser is because quite honestly without the support of these three charities I honestly don’t think my wife Siobhan and I could have got through what was the most awful and challenging time."

He has already raised more than £3,500 to donate search Paul Master on uk.virginmoneygiving.com.

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