FRIENDS and fellow St Augustine’s College pupils Gabby Doel and Harriet Lemay-Lamb raised almost £1,000 for Cancer Research UK by cycling 500 laps around Odd Down Cycle Circuit on Sunday.

The two Year 7 pupils, both aged 11, decided they wanted to organise an event for the charity to support the fight against cancer and raise awareness, after Harriet lost her grandfather to the disease earlier this year.

They arranged the sponsored ride at the cycle circuit in Bath, where they were joined by more than 30 friends and family members in an attempt to cycle as many laps as possible around the track.

After cycling for three hours, they managed to cycle 500 laps of the track and cover 750km. They have already managed to raise almost £1,000 through sponsorship, with more money still to be collected.

Gabby said: “It went really well and in the end we had 35 cyclists with us and managed to cycle 500 laps around the track. It was amazing, although everyone was tired after cycling for three hours.”

Cancer Research UK is a research and awareness charity which aims to reduce the number of deaths from cancer by looking into the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of the disease.

Harriet added: “We had lots of support from our friends and family and we believe we have nearly raised £1,000 so far, although we still have got more money to be collected.

“My granddad passed away earlier this year from cancer and we wanted to raise money in his memory for Cancer Research UK to help beat the disease sooner.

“The event went even better than we expected and I think we may try and do it again in the future, possibly even next year or the year after that.”

Anyone wishing to support the girls can donate on their JustGiving pages at www.justgiving.com/Gabby-Doel or www.justgiving.com/HarrietLL