Family and friends of a British man who drowned in Malta earlier this month have launched a fundraising appeal to repatriate the body as well as for the funeral costs. 

Just five days after setting up the fundraiser, over £6,000 of the overall target of £10,000 has been collected.

Chris Dodd died after finding himself in difficulty while swimming in a pool in  St Paul’s Bay on July 15.

Dodd, from Runcorn, UK was given first aid before being rushed to Mater Dei Hospital, but died shortly after.

The GoFundMe page 'Bring Chris Home', created by Anthony Cade has already raised £6,355 by 191 separate donations at the time of writing,  surpassing the initial target of raising £1,000.

In an update on the page, Dodd's family were given confirmation that his body can be repatriated, and the total cost was revised to cover all costs to take his corpse back to Runcorn for a funeral. 

“Chris was 27 and was a warm-hearted person who loved life and seized every opportunity to smile and have fun,” Cade said in the fundraising appeal.

"His family are not well off and the significant cost of bringing Chris home and paying for a full funeral could be too large for it to even be a possibility for them.”

Anthony Cade, Dodd’s neighbor and long-time friend of over 15 years, said that the aim of the fundraiser is to cover Dodd’s return home, funeral, and also to have a memorial bench placed at his favourite beer garden. 

“Chris was a friend to everyone and no-one has ever had a bad word to say about him, he had an infectious sense of humour and loved every aspect of life, from the setting sun to the Monday morning hangovers,” Cade told Times of Malta. 

“He loved life and grabbed every opportunity to smile and have fun. He is sorely missed and leaves behind two brothers and a single mother.”

The victim's younger brother Callum Dodd, told Runcorn's local newspaper that the family were quoted £4,500 to bring Chris back home, a figure which was reached within a day. The rest will go towards funeral expenses. 

"The amount of people that have reached out to us saying how kind he was, how nice he was and he was always smiling," he said.

Cade thanked all for the donations and kind words and messages. 

An inquiry into the case is being led by Magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech while police are still investigating. 

If you wish to support the family with funeral costs, you can do so here.