Boy raises £50,000 for Haiti in sponsored bike ride

Seven-year-old Charlie Simpson has raised more than £50,000 to help survivors of the Haiti earthquake.

Charlie, from Fulham, set out to raise £500 by riding his bike five miles around his local park but his efforts inspired hundreds of peopleonline who donated more than £50,000 in only one day.

"I just think it was quite sad when I saw the pictures on the TV," Charlie said.

He asked his mother Leonora to help him create a sponsorship form: "We sent it out on to the web and it just went everywhere."

Merlin is a member of the Disasters Emergency Committee. You can donate to the DEC Haiti appeal online at www.dec.org.uk or by calling 0370 60 60 900.

For more information about Merlin's Haiti response please go to: www.merlin.org.uk or call 020 7014 1714.