A sporty nine-year-old with a charitable heart swan 60 lengths in a sponsored swimathom for Marie Curie Cancer Care.

Acresfield Primary School pupil Jaida Nicholls, of Boughton, spotted an advert appealing for people to take part in the charity’s annual swimathom challenge last month and immediately asked her proud mum, Elizabeth Nicholls, if she could take part.

Elizabeth, a teaching assistant at Acresfield Primary, said: “Jaida has had swimming lessons since she was four years old and is a keen swimmer, so loved the idea of doing something she enjoys to raise money for Marie Curie.

“She used her Easter holiday to practice hard and make sure she could manage the 60 lengths. She was determined to succeed and joined adult swimming sessions so that she could concentrate on improving her stamina.

“Although she has swimming lessons once a week she doesn’t swim anywhere near as many lengths as that so it was a challenge for her to get used to swimming for a longer period without a break.”

All her hard work paid off as Jaida successfully finished the 60 lengths and smashed her original target of £100 by raising nearly £200 in sponsorship.

Elizabeth added: “I am so proud of her and she can’t wait now for the medal to come in the post. Next year she thinks she may be able to swim 2.5k, so she’s already thinking how she can raise even more money for an amazing charity.”