FRIENDS and family of a much-loved former Kingswinford sales executive have raised more than £1,000 for charity in her memory.

Vikki Picken, who used to work at Taylor Wimpey’s Himley View development, died in October 2014 and a 5km charity walk through Kingswinford was held recently to help raise funds for Macmillan Cancer Support.

Kevin and Claire Guy, residents at the development, organised the event and received a helping hand from Vikki’s old colleagues who donated £500 and a case of champagne for use in a charity raffle.

“When we first walked into the sales and marketing suite around four years ago to look at buying a house at Himley View, we met Vikki and just clicked with her,” Kevin said.

“She had a very similar sense of humour to us, and during the 18 months between purchasing our house and moving in we had a lot of interaction with her and got to know her well.”

Claire added: “We first thought about organising a charity walk last year and we’ve finally been able to arrange everything after about three or four months of planning.

“We had 36 people take part in the walk, which followed a route through Kingswinford and to the nearby Barrow Hill Local Nature Reserve. We also had a raffle on the day and it really helped raise the community spirit.”

Vikki’s children Phoebe and Sofia also took part in the walk, while a bench has been installed by Taylor Wimpey at the development in memory of their mother.

John Symons, managing director for Taylor Wimpey West Midlands, said: “When we heard about Kevin and Claire organising a charity walk in memory of Vikki, we were honoured and proud that such a fantastic member of our team had touched people’s lives in this way.

“We’re so grateful that Kevin and Claire completed the charity walk in Vikki’s memory – it’s a true testament to how wonderful she was.

“Well done to everyone who took part and raised an amazing amount of money for Macmillan Cancer Support.”