A grateful brother has recruited 60 of his school friends to take part in a RBC fun run to thank Great Ormond Street Hospital for saving his sister’s life.

Rafi Bartfield, from Hampstead, has got his friends from UCS Hampstead to run the RBC's Race for the Kids 5k on October 12 after the children's hospital helped save his then-two-year-old sister Jessy from a life-threatening brain tumour in February 2008.

She underwent nine hours of surgery to help remove the tumour and has since fully recovered from an illness that "plummeted her family to hell" according to mum Annabel.

So far they have raised £1,954 of their £3,000 target.

Rafi, 11, and Jessy joined Spice Girls star Emma Bunton last week to help launch this year's race.

Annabel said: "Rafi is leaving junior school and wanted to mark the occasion with a charitable event, and the response from children in his class signing up to fundraise and take part in RBC Race for the Kids has been really overwhelming."