The best friend of a Bonhill teen who tragically died last month is to take on a major physical challenge in her memory.

Emma McSorley, 20, is organising a sponsored walk up Ben Lomond in memory of 19-year-old Samantha Dunion and also to raise money for Epilepsy Scotland.

Samantha died suddenly from a major epileptic seizure after falling ill at the family's home and had been battling the condition for the past three years.

The brave teen's condition had worsened recently, and she occasionally suffered collapses with no prior warning.

The JustGiving page set up for the walk has already smashed its £200 target - raising £310 at the time of publication and Emma says that she hopes the walk will prove a fitting tribute.

She told the Reporter: "We've been friends for sixteen years since primary one and have always batted off each other. Every memory we had together was great and when we were bored or not feeling great, we would go on walks, so I thought this would be a good thing to do.

"The other reason we're doing it is to raise money for Epilepsy Scotland because not a lot of people know how serious it can be."

Samantha, who attended Christie Park Primary and Vale of Leven Academy, was a budding singer-songwriter and had been playing more gigs with her trusty guitar.

She was also studying music at West College in Greenock as part of her dream to become a singer and to satisfy her love of performing.

Emma said that after finding out news of the tragedy, she was determined to organise something to pay tribute to her friend.

She continued: "I didn't want to just sit around and instead wanted to remember Samantha in a positive way. I set up a Facebook page - 'Walk for Samantha' - and just added people at will, shared it about and everybody from far and wide are saying that they want to do it.

"It's been hard organising things and I didn't expect so many people to say yes. We've had people who live in Glasgow and Greenock saying they want to come along and take part."

Emma confirmed that the plan of action for the day includes a release of purple balloons - the colours of Epilepsy Scotland - at the summit, with people invited to write messages on the balloons if they wish.

Anyone interested in donating to Emma's campaign can visit the JustGiving page at https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/emma-mcsorley.