A YOUNG lad from Trowbridge swam his furthest ever distance at the weekend to raise money for Marie Cure after his grandma was diagnosed with cancer.

Kohl Hardy, seven, swam 60 lengths of Clarendon’s swimming pool to raise nearly £700 for the charity – smashing his target of £100.

The Paxcroft Mead Primary School pupil completed the 1,500-metre challenge in just over an hour on Sunday afternoon with friends and family cheering on from poolside.

He said: “It was the furthest distance I have ever swam and I was really nervous before getting in the pool, but excited too.

“When I got in the pool I saw my friend and family on the side and it made me feel better and made me want to finish it.

“I was really proud of myself afterwards and didn’t think I would raise that much money.

“I’m going to carry on swimming and am now thinking about what to do for my next challenge.”

“If I had a wish it would to be make all the people in the world who have cancer better.”

Kohl’s grandma, Liz, has bowel cancer, which spurred him on to raise as much money as possible for the charity.

Mum Natalie Hardy, 39, of Clarendon Avenue, said: “We saw a leaflet advertising the challenge at the swimming pool and Kohl said he wanted to go for it

“He’s not a massively keen swimmer so he trained three times a week for two months to make sure he’d be able to complete the challenge.

“He’s such a caring and sensitive young boy and he was so over the moon when donations began to pour in – he only wanted to raise £100 but has raised so much more.

“We are all incredibly proud of him – he’s a little superstar.”