A mother said the atmosphere was "electric" as she crossed the finish line of a charity race she ran in memory of her seven-year-old son.

Karen Carter-Bates, of Warrens Shawe Lane, Edgware, and four of her friends raised £500 for Charlie Charges On during the six-mile Run to the Beat race in Wembley.

Mrs Carter, 32, set up tha charity two years after he lost his battle with an aggressive brain tumour.

Named to celebrate Charlie's love of rhinos, the charity is an umbrella group set up under the Brain Tumour Research charity, which has helped raise more than £5,000 in the five months since it was launched.

She said: “It was amazing. Words can’t describe it. There were a lot of hills and I wasn’t expecting that, so I wasn’t sure if I would even finish at one point as it was very tough.

“I was thinking of Charlie the whole time and he’s what carried me through. I thought of all the times he struggled during his treatment. Those hills were nothing in comparison.

“When I crossed the finish line, the atmosphere was electric.”

Charlie first began complaining of headaches and vomiting in the summer of 2009 aged six, but despite repeated trips to the doctor he was diagnosed with a migraine or a stomach bug.

He was later diagnosed with a brain tumour just weeks before his seventh birthday in March 2010.

Even though brain tumours kill more people under 40 than any other cancer, the disease receives less than one per cent in grant money for research purposes. A day of research costs £2,740.

Ms Carter is now a full-time mother to her other children, Annabelle, seven, who has fond memories of her brother, Tristan, four, born weeks before Charlie's diagnosis and 18-month-old Aurora.

Ms Carter and her husband Dean Bates are now preparing for a charity ball in honour of Charlie in October.

She added: “So many of my friends have said they were inspired by the race and want to run for Charlie Charges On next year. We’ll definitely make it an annual thing. It was just incredible.”