Blind brothers walk 16 miles for Yorkshire visually impaired cricket club

Archie and Hugo embarked on a walk through Aysgarth to raise money for Yorkshire Vikings Visually Impaired Cricket Club

Two brothers who lost their sight were joined by about 300 people in a walk to raise money for a cricket club for the visually impaired.

Archie Hare, 16, and Hugo Hare, 11, went blind after being diagnosed with severe retinal dystrophy.

The pair walked 16 miles from Aysgarth Falls to Aysgarth School on Sunday to raise money for Yorkshire Vikings Visually Impaired Cricket Club (VICC).

Their mother Bianca described the brothers as "inspirational".

Hugo is the cricket club's youngest member and plays with visually impaired people of all ages - including an 84-year-old teammate.

The sport uses a larger ball than sighted cricket and also relies on the noise made when it bounces on the way to the batter.

The brothers' father Charlie said they had gained "so much more than cricket" from the club, highlighting how isolating blindness could be, especially in rural areas.

Hugo joined Yorkshire Vikings Visually Impaired Cricket Club at just 11 years old

Captain and development officer at Yorkshire Vikings VICC John Garbett said the club wanted to reach out to other parts of the country and help others to play the sport.

He said the money raised by the walk, which had so far exceeded £8,000, would help them with equipment and coaching.

Mr Garbett added: "The sponsored walk was a brilliant effort by Hugo, who is an amazing young man and I'm sure a future star of the Yorkshire Vikings VICC both on and off the field."

Aysgarth School, which the boys attend, helped devise and run the event.

Debbie Stanford, from the school, told the BBC that some of the walkers were blindfolded for sections of the route to better understand what visually impaired people have the deal with every day.

Pupils walked blindfolded for a stretch of the walk

Mrs Hare said the brothers completed with walk - with Hugo finishing in eight hours - with support from friends as well as the school.

"Sometimes we forget they can't see because they just get on with things," she added.

"Then we remember what they go through and realise how lucky they are to not be seen as different.

"They are incredibly close and help each other with everything."

The walk raised more than £8,000 for the club