PETER PAN and Tinkerbell ran a 15k race, tied at the ankles, to raise cash for charity.

Friends Xenia Burke and Eleanor Davis dressed up as the book characters when they took part in the Challenger Run in Essex.

They ran it three-legged in just under three hours in aid of World Challenge Expeditions, a programme that allows teenagers to travel abroad to far-flung destinations to learn vital life skills and work in communities.

Xenia and Eleanor, both 15, need to raise around £3,000 each to enable them to go on their trip to Peru, where they will be helping to rebuild a village.

Xenia, who has a youngster brother and sister, will be 16 when she goes to Peru this summer.

She said: "We practised for the race really hard on the school track.

"The idea was to run part of it three-legged and the other part normally.

"It was a fantastic day, the atmosphere was brilliant and my two-year-old sister was clapping along with everyone else as we hobbled through the finish line."

It was Xenia's cousin Luke's 18th birthday on the day of the race so she couldn't spent his special day with him but she wanted to wish him a happy birthday through the Guardian.

Xenia, who goes to Forest School in College Place, Walthamstow, lives in Wanstead but often stays with her father who lives in Courtney Road, Leytonstone.

She said: "My family are really proud of me and are also excited for me but they are also pushing me hard to get fundraising and being really supportive as it is a lot of money to raise."