A BASINGSTOKE dad has launched a fundraising drive in tribute to his son who died in a horror crash. Dean Paling and his friend Tom Emery were killed in the car crash on the B2177 Southwick Road near Fareham in December 2013.

Dean’s father, Mike Keer, has now set himself the challenge of raising thousands of pounds for Southampton General Hospital’s adult cystic fibrosis unit, which supported Dean, who suffered from the condition.

At the weekend, Mike swapped his 48th birthday party for a charity event in memory of his son, who was a powerboat champion racer.

Friends and family gathered at Rooksdown Community Centre, in Basingstoke, to celebrate Dean’s life and enjoy a disco, karaoke, raffle, prize draw and rodeo bull challenge, generating £1,300 for the unit.

Mike, a father-of-two, who also has two step children, now plans to do a skydive on what would have been his son’s 25th birthday, raising even more cash for the unit.

Since Dean died aged 23, Mike has had his first trip to a theme park and tried a driving experience day at Silverstone race track, to help bring him closer to his adrenaline-seeking son, from whom he had been estranged 10 years before his death.

The HGV driver, from Winklebury, said: “Even though I hadn’t been in touch with him since he was 13 it gives me that opportunity to know a bit more about what he had been doing with fast cars and powerboats.

“I have got the bug for doing all that now and we have planned to do bigger and better things now.”

With the help of his wife Shirley and his nine-year-old son Tarran, he has already raised £2,500 ahead of his skydive in Swindon in September – including the cash raised on Saturday.

The grandad-of-one said: “The support has been overwhelming. I didn’t think we would have as many people giving to us.”

Shirley, 46, who runs Sweet Treats and works for Hampshire County Council’s highways department, said: “The people who turned up made it absolutely fantastic. They were all people that we knew and they all got into the spirit.”

To support Mike’s fundraising challenge visit justgiving.com/Dean-Titanium.