London boy's bike ride for Haiti raises more than £200,000

The seven-year-old boy from London whose bike ride to raise money for earthquake victims in Haiti captured worldwide headlines has seen his fundraising total pass £200,000 – more than 4,000 times his original target of £500.

Less than a fortnight ago, we reported how Charlie Simpson’s plans to cycle seven laps of his local park in Fulham to raise money for Unicef had resulted in donations of more than £50,000, and donations have continues to flood in as a result of media coverage and well-wishers using social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook to flag up his efforts to their contacts.

At the time, the youngster’s page on the charity fundraising site Just Giving stated: “My name is Charlie Simpson, I want to do a Sponsored Bike Ride for Haiti because there was a big earthquake and loads of people have lost their lives. I want to make some money to buy food, water and tents for everyone in Haiti.”

Last week, Charlie added a message of thanks to those who have generously donated to his cause, which reads: “Thank you very much for all the money you have donated to the children in Haiti. The people in Haiti can now have a water kit, and some food and a tent.”
“Mummy reads me some of my messages and I really like them! I can’t believe how money how much money I have raised, it has been very mad!!!

“Thank you all very much.”

Donations can still be made by visiting Charlie's Just Giving page.