FRIENDS have rallied together to raise an amazing £20,000 for a children's hospice which helps the family of an 18-month-old Malmesbury girl.

Simon Kershaw and his wife Bex are running the Bath Half Marathon on Sunday, March 4 with 20 friends, who hoped to raise £20,000 for Helen & Douglas House children's hospice. But two days before the big day, they have already passed their target, raising over £23,000.

Simon and Bex's daughter Olivia, was infected with a parasite called toxoplasmosis before she was born, and the chances of this happening are one in every 100,000. It caused inflammation in her brain and eyes, causing irreparable damage, including reducing the capacity of her liver.

Wanting to raise as much as they could for Helen and Douglas House, Mr Kershaw sent out a message to friends, asking them to take part in the Half Marathon, and managed to rally together 20 willing volunteers.

"We have a group on Strava with a leaderboard, so each week we can compare who has run the farthest in training. We have a WhatsApp group for encouragement and top tips, and a few of the runners haven't run at all since school.

"I am sure on the day the fast ones will tear off and try and set a new PB whilst the remainder will stick together going steady. We will all be wearing our orange Helen & Douglas running vests and after the race we will all have lunch together in a restaurant in Bath.

"Fundraising is going well and some people's work have also said that they will match any donations that their employee receives.

"Helen & Douglas House is a fantastic place where the staff and facilities come together to provide a wonderful environment for Children like Olivia. Let's raise as much as we can for such a great cause."

Alison Hooker from Helen and Douglas House, said: "We are delighted that Simon and his friends have chosen to raise money for our charity. We rely on donations like this to help local terminally ill children and cannot do this without the help of wonderful people like Simon and his friends."

To donate, please visit: https://www.justgiving.com/teams/bcrtb.