A SEVENS tag rugby tournament at Weymouth and Portland RFC raised more than £500 for epilepsy charity SUDEP Action.

The event, which ran alongside the club’s annual beer festival, was held in memory of Daniel Dench, a former Weymouth rugby player.

Dench, who had been epileptic for 20 years, passed away last March as a result of sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP).

Epilepsy is one of the top 10 causes of early death, with at least three epilepsy deaths a day in the UK, the majority being from SUDEP.

SUDEP Action cares for bereaved families and works with them and professionals to strive to get answers that will save lives in the future.

Daniel’s family decided to stage the Clash of the 7s tournament in a bid to raise awareness of SUDEP, as well as money for the charity.

And the family, including Dan-iel’s twin brother Michael, were delighted with the turnout and totally overwhelmed with people’s generosity, which led to £502 being raised.

Club chairman Ian McMillan presented Daniel’s Weymouth shirt to Michael and the club also provided the medals and cup, which was won by The Justice League team.

Multiple Score, IPACA, GI Joe’s, Tinker Bell, Kids from Fame and Team Cobra were the other teams taking part.

There are now hopes that the tournament can be staged every year in memory of Daniel and for SUDEP Action.