A Watford woman and former Rickmansworth School student is gearing up to run her first marathon to raise money for an "amazing" children’s hospital.

Emily Ginty, 22, is set to run the Brighton marathon on behalf of Great Ormond Street Hospital on Sunday, April 6.

Miss Ginty said: "It didn't take me long to understand how many people's lives this hospital touches. I work for the NHS in Norwich.

"One day I went and spent the day in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. It’s an amazing place with incredible staff. I found out about each of the baby’s backgrounds, and their potential future complications, and thankfully, many of those babies would live full lives.

"However, two of those little babies needed specialist care, and there is only one place they will receive that, at Great Ormond street hospital, which specialises in over 50 clinical paediatric specialities.

"Here is where my support for this hospital began. I want to raise money to keep those speciality staff working, the treatments evolving and the little babies being saved."

Miss Ginty, of The Avenue, completed her first 20-mile run this week, as part of her extensive training for the upcoming event. She attended Rickmansworth School, then went onto study business management at the University of East Anglia.

She said: "I’ve always been one for a challenge and enjoyed running. I wanted to test myself and doing a marathon is on my bucket list. It feels like the right time to do it, and to be able to do it for such a good cause is such a privilege."

To donate visit https://www.justgiving.com/Emily-Ginty