Students raised £6,000 for a cancer charity by completing an 87-mile walk and organising a river cruise party.

The students from Uxbridge College recently presented the money they had raised to staff from Cancer Research UK, at the Uxbridge campus.

Around half the cash was raised by 70 Public Services students, who between them completed the 87-mile Ridgeway National Trail, collecting sponsorship for their efforts.

The rest was raised through a river cruise organised by 50 Travel and Tourism students and held in June - which turned in profits of £2,745.80 for the charity.

The Ridgeway walk, which runs from Overton Hill in Wiltshire, to Ivinghoe Beacon in Tring, Buckinghamshire, took three and a half days, with different groups of students each walking for a day in May this year.

Students were organized and taken to and from the start and finish points of each day's walk by Public Services lecturer Alison White, who set up one of the first courses of its type in the country.

The charity was chosen because Thomas Doran (17), who is studying a BTEC National Diploma in Public Services at the College, has had cancer, and lecturer Mike Neary's father Peter died of the illness in June at the age 66.

Mr Neary, a former RAF Regiment soldier, who teaches Public Services courses and led his students across the entire 87 miles, said: "Because of Thomas and my father, the charity was very close to all our hearts. This is a terrific achievement for both the Public Services and Travel and Tourism students, and shows not only are they prepared to work extremely hard, but that they care enormously for others."

Lisa Chambers from Cancer Research UK, said: "This is a huge amount of money and we cannot thank these young people enough. While research into the causes and treatments of cancer has advanced enormously in recent years, there is still a great deal of work to do and we cannot manage without support like this. Thank you all."