A GROUP of determined fundraisers braved a ten-mile walk from Redhill to London in the driving rain to raise money for a cancer hospital.
The seven walkers, led by young organisers Joe Connelly, 14, and Jasper Peter, 13, set off on the trek from Earlswood Baptist Church to the Royal Marsden in Sutton at 10am on Saturday.
And after only one short break, the dogged group, whose ages ranged from 12 to 43, completed the ten-mile walk in four and a half hours.
The inspirational youngsters planned the walk in tribute to a friend of Joe's sister.
"A friend of my little sister was diagnosed with leukaemia and she's only 3," said Joe, who turned 14 on the day of the walk.
He added: "The walk was hard near the end but it was pretty easy for half of it."
The Reigate pupil said they had gained massive support, not just from their family but also from their teachers at Royal Alexandra and Albert School.
"They were all very proud of us," he added. "We got quite a few sponsorships from the teachers."
His mother, Julie, who had been due to join her son on the walk before everyone realised they would need a lift back to save them a second ten-mile trek home, said: "He did very well and I was very proud. He decided off his own back that he wanted to do this. He's done all the fundraising and getting people interested in doing the walk."
Reverend Jonathan Hardwick is minister at Earlswood Baptist Church and took part in the walk. He said he was very impressed with the boys' initiative in organising such a successful event.
He said everyone stayed positive and he surprised a few people by getting to the end with minimal rest.
"It was interesting in the last two and three miles, the level of conversation dropped a bit. There were a few long climbs, I think one was about half a mile, and that takes its toll. I was surprised at the end. We had one girl who was 12, and I thought she might struggle but we only stopped once and I was really impressed that they did such a fantastic job."
Joe's headmaster, Paul Spencer Ellis, said the whole school was proud of what he and his friend had achieved.
"Joseph has shown great initiative in organising this walk to raise money for a charity that is close to his heart.
"He should be proud of what he has achieved and I am sure the Royal Marsden Hospital will be very grateful for the money he has raised."
Donations are still coming in but the group has raised at least £600 so far.
