ANYONE going for a country walk in the Cotswolds this weekend might be a little shocked to see a hare and a tortoise race past them through the hills on bikes.

The characters are in fact 25-year-old Oxford University history student Véronique Thouroude as the tortoise, and her father Patrick.

While studying in the city for the past three years, Miss Thoroude has been volunteering for Helen & Douglas House Children’s Hospice in East Oxford.

Now almost at the end of her PhD, she is taking on one last challenge to raise funds for the home, and has roped in her father all the way from his home in Cambridge.

The pair will dress up to cycle 50 miles tomorrow, setting off from the hospice and cycling through Witney, Burford, Charlbury and Bladon.

Miss Thoroude said: “I’ve volunteered at Helen & Douglas House for three years and I’ve got to know the young people and their families.”

To help the pair reach their £300 target go online to my.helenanddouglas.org.uk/harestortoise.