Colleagues of a road recovery worker from Dartford who was killed on the side of the road while working on a broken down vehicle have raised more than £20,000 for a road safety charity in his memory.

Steve Godbold, who worked for Dynes Auto Services, died last year while attending a car on the M25 between junctions 4 and 5.

After his death, Mr Godbold's colleagues wanted to raise awareness about the dangers of working on the roadside, and organised a charity gala to commemorate him.

Adam Drury, general manager at Dynes, told News Shopper: "We wanted to pay our respects to Steve." 

On April 28, Mr Drury and his colleagues arranged the Recovery Bright Light Stars charity gala at the Mercure Hotel in Dartford to raise money for the Recovery Industry Support charity (RISC) which supports victims of roadside accidents.

The charity, which provides immediate financial and social support for families and victims of accidents of this nature, covered Mr Godbold's funeral costs after his death in September.

After a three course meal for guests and entertainment from performers in the Jersey Boys musical, the guests sat down to raise funds for the charity.

A raffle was held and ten prizes were auctioned off, including signed sports memorabilia and a helicopter ride.

The highest sum of the night was paid for a hospitality box with ten spaces at Brands Hatch Racecourse, which pulled in an impressive £4,500.

Speaking to News Shopper, Mr Drury said the night was "a success."

He said: "It was a nice relaxed atmosphere but it was quite emotional. There were lots of speeches about Steve."

He added that Mr Godbold's customer, who he was called to at the time of his death, Nathan Green, also attended as a guest of honor. After Mr Godbold was hit on the side of the road, Mr Green performed CPR on him until emergency services arrived. Sadly, he could not be saved.

Mr Drury told News Shopper: "We gave him an award for his humanity. It was nice because no one really knew who he was until we brought him up on stage."

As part of the ceremony, Mr Drury's company designed and built a truck with extra features which are hoped will improve safety of the roadside workers called out to jobs.

In addition to a high-intensity flashing light to draw attention to the vehicle, it also has a blue wrap with white stars imprinted on it.

"The stars represent the fallen roadside workers who have been killed on the job," Mr Drury said.