SCHOOLGIRL Rosanna Bassett was inspired by her godmother to get on her bike to raise £4,000 for Multiple Sclerosis sufferers.

She cycled from her home in Brightwell Baldwin, near Watlington, to Abingdon to raise the sponsorship cash for the MS Society.

The 13-year-old said she was inspired to make the charity jaunt after seeing first-hand how the central nervous system disease affected godmother Susie Morris, who lives in South Africa.

The Wycombe Abbey School pupil said: “I believe strongly in the MS Society charity, given my awareness of it through my godmother having MS. And I was keen to help in however a small way I could towards helping both MS sufferers, and getting some funding together for further research towards finding a cure for this terribly debilitating disease.”

She continued: “When each person at my school in Year Eight was set a project to individually show active support for a charity of their choice I decided to ask people to sponsor me to cycle the 14 miles from my home to Abingdon.”

Her father Philip made the ride with her and they were met at the Northcourt Centre in Northcourt Road, Abingdon, by proud mum Cassy and siblings Serena, nine and Max, four.

Rosanna added: “It was exhausting, but definitely worth it.”

She has given half the cash to the Oxford and District Branch of the MS Society for welfare services and the other half to the national MS Society for research.

John Chipperfield, society branch chairman, also met Rosanna at the end of her journey and presented her with a certificate of thanks.

He said: “We would like to congratulate Rosanna on a wonderful achievement, not only in completing her ride but in raising so much money for such a worthy cause.

“The money will be well spent on trying to find a cure for MS and helping those locally, with the condition. Rosanna deserves the highest praise.”

The condition damages myelin, the substance which surrounds nerve fibres in the central nervous system. Women are twice as likely as men to develop the disease.