A family and their friends have raised an epic £27,000 for the hospital that saved a Rainham boy's life as a baby.

Luke Wheeler had life-saving heart surgery at the Evelina London Children's Hospital when he was just five days old, and 12 years on he and his sister Savannah, and their friends, continue to show their thanks.

For the most recent challenge at Gravesend's Cyclopark, Luke's sister Savannah, aged six, decided she wanted to raise money for Ukraine - and the group decided to make it a joint effort for children in the war-torn country and Evelina Hospital.

Six of her friends from school in Canterbury joined her for the charity ride, while a further three friends from Gravesend took part, with the children choosing to undertake either 5km or 10km courses.

"Savannah decided that after watching the plight of the Ukraine children on TV, asked if she could do something to help them," said mum Jo. "In the process of organising the ride we decided that we would also like to share the money with the Evelina Children’s Hospital. "

She explained Luke continues to be an outpatient with the Evelina Hospital and may need further surgery in his teenage years.

"It made sense for the children to be riding for children, those in Ukraine and those at the Evelina Children’s Hospital," she added. "The Cyclopark agreed to host the event and the children completed either a 5k or 10k ride."

But she said the ride was a real challenge for some of the children, who had only learnt to ride a bike a few months ago.

"They were amazing," she added. "Some of them couldn't even ride a bike a couple of months ago, and a lot of parents didn't think they would be able to achieve it.

"I think everyone was really shocked when they managed it."

Although Luke didn't take part on this occasion, he was on hand to help out the participants and continue the support for the hospital that saved his life.

"He was really good," added Jo. "He went off in the front, and then got off after and helped all the children up the hill."

Dad Anthony Waddison said Savannah had been involved in fundraising from an early age, and had taken the lead in organising the latest event.

"It was beautiful day and a great group of people, and the kids did really well," he said. "It was hot, and it was quite hard work some of the hills around the Cyclopark.

"It was a really nice day and all the kids achieved the distance they said they were going to achieve."

Anthony said he couldn't recall how many events the family and friends had taken part in over the years, as there were too many to remember.

"I was trying to think about this," he added. "It's a lot. We've had a lot of people support us as well.

The youngsters setting off on their bike ride

"It's not just us - Savannah's friends from the school and a lot of Luke's friends from his schools over the years, they've really supported us and we've had friends, family members and associates doing various different fundraising activities, from half marathons to abseiling down Guy's tower up in London.

"We've done raffles and sponsored walks and sponsored swims, so we've done a huge amount of events and lots of people have been involved through the years."

With the support of friends and family, the bike ride last month raised more than £3,600.