A HEADINGTON School girl has raised almost £4,000 for an Oxfordshire bereavement charity after completing a heroic cycling challenge.

Fourteen-year-old Sophie Minford has now raised a grand total of £3,970 thanks to the charity cycle ride she completed along with her dad Angus, riding from London to Paris last month.

The Headington student raised funds for charity SeeSaw, which provides grief support for children and young people across Oxfordshire.

Speaking ahead of her challenge, which she successfully completed between June 23 and June 25, she praised the work of the charity and said it needed more funds.

On her fundraising page she said: "Apart from the challenge, I want to raise money for Oxford-based charity Seesaw, which is a child bereavement charity.

"It only started in 2000 and the demand for it is growing fast.

"It provides grief support for children and young people and it has already offered assistance to some 4,300 affected people, and has helped out in 85 per cent of Oxfordshire schools.

"In terms of fundraising, it relies on self-generation for more than 85 per cent of its grief support costs, and this is part of the reason I feel it is important to support it."

The fundraising challenge saw Sophie start out at Apsley House in London at 5am and then head out across the Surrey Hills and South Downs before reaching Newhaven and finally leaving England and riding off into the French countryside.

Despite very little experience in road biking, having only started riding in November 2016, she carried on her trek by crossing into Normandy, France, before heading on from Dieppe to Beauvais and the final leg to the French capital.

She arrived at her destination at the Arc de Triomphe, Paris by 1.15pm two days after leaving London.

After completing the challenge and raising almost £4,000 Sophie was later awarded the best overall individual achievement award at Headington School's cups and colours award on Friday.

The school called her achievement 'incredible' on handing her the award last week.

You can still make donations for Sophie's efforts to help her reach her final fundraising target of £5,000, by visiting mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/sophieminford1