A 10-YEAR-OLD girl walked all the way from Dover to her home in Farnborough to raise money for charity after being inspired by a TV appeal.

Jessica Bennett walked the 66.5 miles over five days after seeing a BBC appeal fronted by Top Gear presenter Richard Hammond for charity Spinal Research.

The Crofton Junior School pupil was joined by her 39-year-old dad Clive on the walk, and their route took in Ashford and Maidstone before they arrived back at their home in Paddock Close.

Jessica said: “We saw the advert on the telly and there were people learning to walk on machines and a boy who had been run over by a truck who could not walk.

“We felt sorry for them so we decided to do the walk for the charity. The walk was tiring, but I enjoyed looking at all the wildlife along the way.”

Jessica has raised around £2,200 so far, and received donations from people she came across during the walk.

She said: “We stayed at a Premier Inn each night and at the first one in Folkestone the receptionist gave us £10. She said her best friend had had spinal surgery.

“While we were walking, there was a lady who pulled up in a car and offered us a lift, because she saw my dad was wearing a knee brace.

“When we told her what we were doing, she gave us £3, which was all the money she had on her at the time.”

Jessica, who is the eldest of three children, is now planning to take on another challenge for charity, and is considering doing a sponsored cycle next summer.

Her mum Dawn, aged 40, said: “I’m just so proud of her. She has always been a very loving child.

“You give her a few pounds at a school fair and she will come back with presents for us and her brother and sister and nothing for herself.”

To support Jessica and her dad and donate to Spinal Research, which funds medical research to help people paralysed by back and neck injuries, go to justgiving.com/Clive-Bennett0.