A GROUP of backers for a father of two diagnosed with Huntington’s Disease put their running shoes on to raise funds towards ground-breaking research on the disease.

Lloyd Jones, from Ruthin, was recently diagnosed with Huntington’s, a currently incurable neurodegenerative disease that causes gradual disability and a decline in mental ability akin to dementia, weeks before his brother, Bryn, received the same diagnosis.

Mr Jones had suspected he had the disease for 15 years but decided to remain silent as his two sons were too young to know.

Upon his diagnosis, Mr Jones’ family and friends, including his two sons, Dafydd and Sion, responded by putting their running shoes on for the Liverpool Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon on May 20, to raise more than £6,000 for the Huntington’s Disease Association, a charity that supports people with the condition and research to find a cure.

Debbie Jones, wife of Mr Jones, said: “All the lads did amazing. Dafydd smashed it in 1 hour 49 minutes, and Sion, who hates running, finished with a great time but he says ‘never ever again’.”

In the thick of the race, Dafydd, Mr and Mrs Jones’ eldest son, found himself in an unlikely situation. Mrs Jones said: “Out of 22,000 runners, my eldest son ended up running alongside a young lad also running for Huntington’s. Out of all the thousands when he was struggling with the heat there was this other person running for the same cause.

"They gave each other the thumbs up, which really spurred Dafydd on.

“I believe someone up there is watching over us. I like to think it’s my dad, he would be so proud.”

Mrs Jones was rooting for the runners on the sidelines with Lloyd Jones, his father, David, and Mrs Jones' mother, Brenda Vernon, all wearing supporters’ T-shirts.

Mrs Jones added: “It was a very emotional day but we’re very, very proud of all the lads for not only helping us raise awareness and a huge amount of donations but, more than anything, being supportive of our sons. We all need friends at difficult times.”

Huntington’s affects around 8,000 people in the UK every year. The disease is currently incurable but recent research has pointed towards a cure that would be the biggest breakthrough in neurodegenerative disease for 50 years.

Mrs Jones said: “Now we are going to concentrate on having happy times with family and friends. We feel we have raised the awareness we wanted and we can’t thank everyone enough for their support, donations and lovely messages.”