Eight-year-old cyclist rides round Richmond Park to raise thousands of pounds for Ukraine

An eight-year-old cyclist ​has raised more than £6,000 for medical help for people in Ukraine by riding two laps of Richmond Park.

Oscar Hutchings rode a total distance of 24km in his fundraising ride on 3 April, reports the Express.

“It was very, very fun and a bit challenging but I had my dad and my dad’s friend Yaroslav riding with me,” he said.

“Yaroslav is from Ukraine and his family were there at the start of the war.

“My mum was cheering me on the whole way and made me a special T-shirt for my ride.”

His mum, Heather Willey, said: “The first thing he wanted to do was have a massive flag outside of the house to show his support for Ukraine.

“I convinced him to put it in his bedroom window. So now he has a flag covering the whole of his window because we don’t have a flagpole for it to go outside.”

Initially he wanted to run a marathon to raise funds for Ukraine, but his mother suggested he was perhaps too young for that – so instead, he got on his bike.

On his page on Just Giving, where he has so far raised more than £6,000, the youngster said:

“Hello my name is Oscar, I'm 8 years old. Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

“On Sunday 3rd of April I rode my bike for almost 2 hours and covered 24km. It's the furthest I have ever ridden my bike! 

“I did this to raise awareness and aid for those millions of people impacted by the war in the Ukraine. 

“I'm lucky to know some great Ukrainian friends so when I saw what was happening to their country and the towns where their families live I wanted to help. Please support me to get them much needed aid through Medecins Sans Frontieres!”

You can donate here.