Children in Jersey raise £800 for UNICEF after reading girl's daily struggle to find clean water

• Report by ITV Channel's Josh Wilde

Students in Jersey have raised nearly £800 for children like them to access clean drinking water worldwide.

Year 4 pupils from Samarès Primary School were inspired after reading 'The Water Princess', a book which tells the story of a girl in Africa who walks every day to collect water.

8-year-old Reuben Fitzpatrick said: "I want to walk with the water on my back to make me feel how hard it is for them to do it."

Headteacher Jenny Posner added: "I'm really proud ... They organised and planned their sponsored walk, they wrote to me to request if it was ok. They are passionate about helping people who are less fortunate than themselves."

The fictional book is based on the true childhood experiences of model Georgie Badiel who grew up in Burkina Faso.

Author Susan Verde said: "Children at a young age are ready to talk about these things, they're so open. Books are such a wonderful way, they're sort of these windows into the world right? If you can't travel to a certain place, you can travel there through a book."

• Author of 'The Water Princess' Susan Verde reacts to her book being read by schoolchildren in the Channel Islands

Global children's charity UNICEF say millions of children miss out on education every day because they spend hours collecting water to drink.