Two Warwickshire friends have tackled 12km and 27 locks along The Grand Union Canal in a pedalo raising money for a local charity.

Friends Alex Pearson from Stratford and Emma Brayne from Warwick were joined by two canine companions as they travelled for Molly Olly's Wishes.

The pair, who had trained for the 11-hour challenge, pedalled from Radford Semele to Hatton Locks, to boost funds for the local children's charity, which suffered a huge blow to its fundraising efforts throughout the pandemic.

They were supported by Alex's friend David Fletcher and Emma's husband Adam Brayne who acted as lockkeepers along the route.

The girls were joined by Alex's dogs Archie and Chester – at least for most of the route!

"The dogs were really good but we had to keep an eye on them and Archie did have a little dunk in the water half way through. But apart from that it all went very smoothly," added Alex.

They were also grateful for all impromptu donations and messages of support they received en route, including from Warwick mayor Richard Edgington.

Molly Olly's Wishes was established in 2011 following the death of Rachel and Tim Ollerenshaw's eight-year-old daughter Molly from a rare kidney cancer.

The Warwick-based charity works to support children with terminal or life-limiting illnesses and their families and help with their emotional wellbeing as well as grant wishes and donate therapeutic toys and books to both children directly and to hospitals throughout the UK.

Mascot of the charity is a therapeutic toy lion called Olly The Brave who has his own Hickman line and a detachable mane which helps to explain and normalise the effects of chemotherapy. These form part of an Olly The Brave pack that has now been handed out to more than 40 hospitals, along with a book from the charity's exclusive Olly The Brave series.

Part of more than £2.5m raised to date, has also been used to fund the first Molly Olly consultant in paediatric medicine at Birmingham Children's Hospital.

"Rachel Ollerenshaw said: "This has been one of the most unusual and fun challenges that we have seen over the years and is a lot harder than people may imagine. There are so many locks to contend with on the Hatton Flight. It was a hot day and a long way by pedalo!

"Alex , Emma and their team of helpers and supporters were brilliant and did it with a laugh and big smiles on their faces the whole way. It was a great way to get people talking because it was novel and has definitely helped to raise awareness as well as much-needed funds.

"They had a lovely welcome from the Hatton Locks Café who stayed open especially to greet them. Thank you to them all and everyone who has donated and special thanks to Alex for her endless enthusiasm and commitment to helping make a difference to so many. Molly Olly's are very grateful to you."

Alex said after finishing at 8pm last night: "We're going to have aches and pains but we're helping create happy children through wishes that Molly Olly can offer. Our pain is nothing compared to what their families are going through or how their lives have changed."

Emma added: "It took longer than we had anticipated but the most important thing is we enjoyed it. And we were blessed with the weather. I'm so proud that we did it. Trying to do 20 minutes on a pedalo in training was hard enough but to do 11 hours is crazy.

The girls, who have had the support of Leamington Boats and The Canal River Trust, have also added collection tins in the Leamington Morrisons store and have already exceeded their fundraising target of £500. To donate follow this link.

And it doesn't stop there. Alex is already preparing for the next challenge when she walks more than 30 miles from Birmingham to Leamington in aid of CLIC Sargent, next month.

Further information about Molly Olly's Wishes or how to donate can be found online here.

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