A 12-year-old schoolboy from Melksham is “proud’ to be crowned a joint winner of the MS Society’s 2018 Young Fundraiser award.

Ciaran Hanks was one of three young fundraisers to be recognised at the national charity’s ceremony in London last Friday.

He raised £525 for the charity last year - nearly three times his initial target - by swimming the equivalent length of Loch Ness, 1,454 lengths of the 25m Melksham Blue Pool.

Ciaran said: “I’m proud because it’s taken a lot of energy.

“It’s been amazing meeting so many people today, including the other young fundraisers. It feels really good to be recognised in this way.”

Despite having asthma and never having swum a length until he was 10 years old, Ciaran became determined to help stop Multiple Sclerosis.

Inspired by Paralympian and MS Society Ambassador Stephanie Millward, he has tackled several swimming challenges to raise funds for the charity.

The Melksham Oak Community School pupil added: “It means a lot to me because I did this challenge as a thank you to Stephanie Millward for inspiring me.”

In 2016, the enterprising teenager completed a challenge to swim the equivalent of crossing the 22-mile English Channel to France.

Hosted by BBC Radio 1 DJ and MS Society Ambassador Scott Mills, the awards honoured inspirational volunteers, fundraisers, carers, professionals, researchers and journalists for their work to improve the lives of people affected by multiple sclerosis (MS).

Jack Frimston, from the band The Tailormade, who presented the award to Ciaran, said: “These are our third MS Society Awards and it means so much to us to present the Young Fundraiser award.

“My mum has MS and she’s our inspiration for getting involved with the MS Society. After seeing all the amazing work the charity does, we want to keep doing our bit.”

MS Society Chief Executive, Michelle Mitchell, said: “The MS Society Awards is our way of celebrating the remarkable hard work and dedication of those who make a difference to the 100,000 people living with MS in the UK.

“Our three young fundraiser finalists have all achieved so much, and at such a young age, that we couldn’t separate them with one outright winner. We’re very proud of Ciaran and he absolutely deserves this recognition.”

MS is an unpredictable condition that affects more than 100,000 people in the UK. It’s different for everyone, but is often painful and exhausting and can cause problems with how you walk, move, see, think and feel.

The ceremony attracted a number of famous faces including actor Alun Armstrong, TV personality Jane Felstead, Screenwriter Abi Morgan, musicians Felix and Hugo White, media lawyer Mark Lewis and BBC journalists Caroline Wyatt and Hugh Pym.