Four runners braved blazing temperatures to run so a child can walk.

Jas-Ming Oh, Colin Lee, Tope Teniola and John Gribbon, took part in the British 10k run on Sunday to raise money for Edgware-based charity the Precious Foundation.

The runners, all of whom live in the borough of Barnet, are raising money to pay for a five-year-old orphan to have a series of life-changing operations.

Na’ima, who lives at the Abuja Children’s Home in Abuja, Nigeria, suffers from medical condition arthrogryposis multiplex congenital, which means both her knees and ankles are twisted at the bones.

The Precious Foundation, which cares for orphans around the world, has already raised £2,387 for her to have the first in a series of operations.

Chairman of the charity Mrs Teniola, 43, said she was “thrilled” people in Barnet had come forward to encourage her to do the run with them.

She said: “I’ve never done a run like this before, but they were so supportive.

“When I started training a year ago I could barely run for a few minutes on the treadmill, but after a few months I could do 5km easily – I was named best gym member by Barnet Leisure.”

The mother, who lives in Hendon, added she felt a great sense of achievement in completing the route through central London, especially in temperatures nearing 30C.

She said: “We’ve got our legs, and we felt we should use them to help Na’ima, who doesn’t, so she can have a better life.”

To sponsor Na'ima text PREC08 and any amount between £1 and £10 to 70070.