A fundraising football match held in memory of two Huntingdonshire friends who were described as “nice blokes” raised more than £1,000.

Liam Brading and Tom Lukey, who both lived in Godmanchester, died in 2013 and 2016 respectively.

Sam Breacker and Rick Knaepel, who were friends of Liam and Tom, came up with the idea of the match to remember the pair, as well as to raise funds for suicide prevention charity Papyrus, and air ambulance charity Magpas.

On Saturday, dozens of friends and family gathered for the match, which saw more than £1,200 raised for the organisations.

“The football match was great, there was a great turnout and a nice day. There was a raffle and the barbecue also went well,” said Sam.

The match took place at Buckden Football Club, and the teams included former Buckden Football Club players, a side Liam, 18, used to represent, and former players from Godmanchester Football Club.

“The game was a good bit of fun. We [Buckden] lost 5-1 but we were the underdogs,” Sam added.

The money raised will be split between the two charities that helped both Liam and Tom during the hard times in their lives.

The memorial game was given the support of Tom’s family, following his death on April 20 last year. Tom, 22, had been unable to come to terms the death of his friend Liam, and took his own life.

The match was also welcomed by Liam’s relatives. Liam died on April 13,

2013, at Hinchingbrooke Hospital.

“Liam and Tom were both just generally nice blokes, and both doing quite well in life,” said Sam.

“It was mostly out of the blue, we don’t think that when you are young something like that is going to happen.

“It was just a surprise and it was quite hard for my group of mates to talk about it. We want to use this match to celebrate their memory and celebrate their lives.”

By hosting the match, all involved hoped to spread the message about suicide prevention and to stop anyone else taking their own life.

To continue to support the charities, Sam and Rick hope to organise the match again with the aim of it becoming a yearly game.

The money raised was collected through donations from two Just Giving pages, with £400 coming from the day itself.

Anyone who wants to donate to the fundraising mission can go to www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Sam-Breacker1.