A St Albans duo have taken on a mammoth charity challenge inspired by Sir David Attenborough's documentaries.

Sam, 8 and Seb, 7 have embarked on a 30-day running challenge to raise funds and awareness for the World Land Trust, after watching many of Attenborough's documentaries, including A Life On Our Planet.

Sam and Seb, who are both in Year 3 at a St Albans primary school, plan to run 202.1km between them from January 9 to February 7 to kickstart the new year.

Both keen footballers and cricketers, Sam and Seb found a love of running over lockdown periods when they couldn't train or play matches with their local clubs. Starting twice a week during the first lockdown, they eventually built up to running the Summer Solstice 10k.

Sam said: "I watched a charity ad on TV over Christmas. My mum explained why and how people raise money for charities and the difference it can make. I wanted to do the same and that is where it started."

The boys got together over Zoom to brainstorm fundraising ideas and to decide what charity meant the most to them. Seb added: "Over Christmas, I watched David Attenborough's: A Life on Our Planet. I felt very sad and wanted to find a way to help our planet."

Before even taking a step for the challenge, Sam and Seb managed to smash their £2,021 target. Their current total stands at £3,271, which is enough to protect more than 30 acres of land.

The boys got in contact with Sir David to let him know of their efforts, and have also received a retweet from the World Land Trust, which Sir David is a patron of.

The tweet said: "I-N-C-R-E-D-I-B-L-E!

"So proud of Sam and Seb – the intrepid runners for nature who have given us a #ConservationOptimism boost to get 2021 going.

"From WLT and our partners, thank you."

Sam's mum Rebecca Johnson told the Herts Ad: "The boys started running throughout the first lockdown and thought, to stay positive and make the most of January, they would put their energy to good use."

For updates on Sam and Seb's progress, and to donate to their fundraiser, visit justgiving.com/fundraising/rebecca-andrew-johnson