A HEREFORDSHIRE woman has thanked people for their support after completing an epic challenge alongside friends and family, in memory of her five-year-old son.

Laura Hughes, her best friend, and three sisters' in law, have spent the past week walking from Stretton Sugwas Primary School to Woolacombe Bay in Devon to raise money for George's Fund, a charity set up after she lost her son George to cancer in 2020.

George was diagnosed with Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG), which is a highly malignant brain tumour, after being sick one morning after breakfast.

DIPG affects children almost exclusively who are between the ages of four and eleven and children typically experience a month or less of symptoms before diagnosis and then worsen rapidly.

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Six weeks later, her tragically passed away on October 12, 2020.

George's Fund is managed by the Herefordshire Community Foundation and promotes the interests of primary aged children in Herefordshire.

This means it can give one-off grants to poorly children but also to any projects that improve education, mental health and outdoor activities for primary age children.

The friends and family have walked 150 miles in a week.

They left Stretton Sugwas at 9am on Friday July 22 and headed south.

Stop offs in both Monmouth and the Severn Bridge in South Wales followed, before the walkers took in Clevedon, Highbridge, Bridgewater, and Minehead.

The group arrived at Woolacombe Bay beach in the early evening of Friday July 29 to a rapturous reception.

Family and friends were waiting for the intrepid group as they arrived at the beach, including teachers from George's school at Stretton Sugwas.

Mrs Hughes said: "We can’t describe the feeling of arriving on the beach.

"Looking down the sand dune to the crowd of orange was just so amazing.

"The teachers had even come down on the mini bus for the day."

The 'Walk for George' has at time of writing raised over £50,000 for George's Fund and Mrs Hughes has been stunned by the response.

She said: "We can’t quite believe it. The support is just incredible.

"Thank you so much to everyone for all your messages, comments of encouragement and support it really has kept us going."