A GROUP of friends from the Witney area will cycle from London to Amsterdam to raise awareness and funds for a little known charity.

The four women, who have dubbed themselves the ‘Four Non-Blondes’, will take on the 150-mile cycling challenge in May for Primary Immunodeficiency UK (PID UK).

They chose the charity because of the support it gave to two young siblings from North Leigh who live with rare conditions affecting their immune systems.

Helen Smith, of North Leigh, is the head of girls PE at Wood Green School in Witney and came up with the challenge as a way of boosting the profile of the lesser-known charity.

The 44-year-old said: “We’ve done other charity bike rides together and we just thought it would be nice to do something for one that’s close to home."

The group will complete the challenge for Herbie and Lily Taylor, eight and 14, who both suffer from NEMO syndrome.

Their conditions mean they have reduced natural defence against germs such as bacteria, fungi and viruses.

Doctors diagnosed Herbie with NEMO syndrome when he was two after he suffered from bacterial meningitis and lung infection empyema.

In 2014 his brother Rufus, now nine, donated bone marrow to Herbie at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London.

Lily is unusual in her suffering from NEMO syndrome as it normally only affects boys.

She is still awaiting a bone marrow transplant and currently requires frequent hospital visits.

The condition affects Lily's lungs, which only function at minimum capacity.

Mrs Smith, who teaches Lily PE, said: "Lily is so tough on herself in terms of what she can't do and she always gives 110 per cent.

"She tries and tries and tries. That resilience is one of the reasons we want to do this challenge."

Herbie and Lily's mum Emily Taylor talked about the difficulty of experiencing NEMO syndrome in her family and the importance of spreading the word about PID UK.

She said: “You spend many nights wondering whether your children are going to live. We have four children and we’ve wondered at one point or another how long we would have four children for.

“People don’t realise how many are living with this condition. This challenge is amazing because it’s a really small charity and it isn’t very well known.”

Starting on May 12, the journey will take the group from London's East End to Harwich and then, after a ferry crossing, onwards from the Hook of Holland up the Dutch coast and inland to Amsterdam.

They have a fundraising target of £5,000, more than half of which has already been raised.

One of the team, Mary-Anne Beveridge, of Vanner Road, Witney, said: "PID UK covers a group of over 300 different conditions. I know that Emily and her family found the charity very supportive and are very keen for awareness to be raised."

The group wanted to thank AllFloors of Oxfordshire and The Terracotta Shop for their support.

To make a donation to PID UK and support the Four Non-Blondes go to bit.ly/2lMEDCX