A woman and her rescue dog have walked from Aveton Gifford to Dover in aid of refugees and the Blue Cross.

Pippa and her dog Bonnie have completed a 300-mile journey carrying their own camping gear - Bonnie carried a couple of bags of her own food - and they spent much of the nights either camping, staying with friends or accepting lodging from friendly people they met along the way.

Following footpaths as much as possible to minimise the wear and tear on Bonnie’s paws, they passed through Devon, Dorset, Sussex and Kent. Along the way they have camped on wild cliff tops, stayed at friends’ house and even slept at a sympathetic vicar’s home.

Family and friends met Pippa and Bonnie for their final push to Dover.

Pippa posted on her Facebook page Devon to Dover Walk for Refugees when she got home, saying: “Thank you to everyone who helped and supported us, who posted encouraging comments, who fed and housed us, fetched and delivered us and joined us to walk for a day or two (and jollied me along even when I was blistered and grumpy -special thanks to Helen King), who stopped to chat or even chased after us with money and to all who donated generously.

“We couldn’t have done it without you!

“We have raised over £3,000 (including gift aid) for Refugees and about £500 for the Blue Cross and the donate pages are open for another month so if you can, please pass this on to everyone you know!”

Along the way, Pippa was raising money for Open Hearts Open Borders and the British Red Cross, while Bonnie was collecting for the Blue Cross.

OHOB was initially set up in October 2015 as a Facebook Group called Open Hearts Open Borders – Refugee Aid; this was in response to the current refugee crisis and the tragic media images across media.

As a group from Plymouth, they started up collections and donation points and started sending aid. Soon, after setting up the Facebook group they discovered a real desire within the community of Plymouth, and surrounding area, to be involved in some way to do more than sending aid into Europe.

The Blue Cross runs animal hospitals, clinics for veterinary treatment and rehoming services. They also run education and behaviour teams for helping people look after their pets as well as they can.

You can still donate to the Blue Cross hereOr to the British Red Cross and Open Hearts, Open Borders here