A TEN-year-old from East Stour is running two miles every day throughout the summer holidays to raise some much-needed funds for his swim club.

Noah Cooper set himself the challenge after his swim club, the volunteer-run North Dorset Turbos in Gillingham, put out an appeal for funds following “ever increasing” costs to run the club.

He is hoping that his fundraising efforts will help buy new equipment for the club – in particular, backstroke starting wedges.

Noah started his mission on July 23 and won’t stop until he reaches his finish line of September 3, meaning he would have run a total of 80 miles in that time.

He said: “I am excited to raise money for the club to buy new equipment which will help make our training better for competitions.

“Being part of Turbos makes me feel good and proud of myself.”

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Noah’s mum, Gemma, said she is “so proud” of his commitment and dedication.

“As a child who has never run in this way, he has shown great courage and determination,” she said.

“His swimming club are his biggest cheerleaders, and they give him so much confidence and support, so he wanted to give something back.”

North Dorset Turbos Swimming Club has been a cornerstone of the North Dorset community since 2003.

It provides a vibrant and supportive environment for competitive swimmers in Gillingham, Shaftesbury, Sturminster Newton, and Mere.

A spokesperson said: “As a volunteer-run club, every penny of our membership fees goes directly towards essential operational costs like pool hire and coaching expenses.

“While our dedicated volunteers give countless hours of their time, the reality is that the costs of maintaining a high-quality competitive swimming programme are ever-increasing.”

The club can be contacted at info@northdorsetturbos.co.uk

Click here to donate, or search ‘North Dorset Turbos Swimming Club – Dive In, Make Waves’ on GoFundMe.