Schoolchildren to join 'Santa Run' for classmate who beat leukaemia

• Watch Bob Cruwys' report here.

More than 30 schoolchildren will join crowds at a Santa Run in Devon to raise funds for a charity which supported their classmate.

Three-year-old Sophia started preschool in Newton St Cyres in September - the same month she got to 'ring the bell' on her hospital ward to mark the end of two years of cancer treatment.

Sophia was diagnosed with leukaemia when she was just 15 months old in 2022.

Now more than 30 schoolchildren from Newton St Cyres will join crowds at this year's Exeter Santa Run. They will be raising money for Exeter Leukaemia Fund - or ELF - which supported Sophia and her family after her diagnosis.

Sophia's mum Serann Jones said the family would have been "lost" without ELF's support.

"They've helped us from day one and every single day," she said.

Serann does not drive, so one way ELF would help the family was by getting her and Sophia get to the hospital.

"I can't say enough how much they mean to us," Serann said. "They are our family. I owe them everything to be honest.

"They do so much. It’s an amazing and beautiful thing because they help keep you together while you’re going through such a difficult experience.”

Sophia was treated at the Royal Devon and Exeter (RD&E) Hospital where, in September, she got to ring a bell on the ward to mark the end of her treatment.

To say thank you to ELF for their support, Sophia and her family are taking part in the Santa Run on Sunday 1 December.

Hundreds of runners of all ages are due to run through the city centre dressed up as Father Christmas.

ELF is one of the charities supported by Exeter City Community Trust, which organises the event.

The event offers two distances, a 2.5k family run and a 5k run, and also raises funds for the community trust's work in the community.