Ten-year-old Lifton resident Sullivan Gardiner is on a mission to skate 100 miles in a month to raise money for Cancer Research UK.

Sullivan set himself the mammoth task of completing the Wheel 100 Miles Challenge, which challenges participants to complete 100 miles in May on any form of wheels, following on from his lockdown challenge to raise money for Children’s Hospice.

Mum Kerry said: ‘He first did something similar to the Wheel 100 Mile Challenge in lockdown in March 2020. He is one of those really active children who can never sit still.

‘He found a YouTube video of a walk through the rainforest that you could join in with. It was fun actually, we all joined in with him. He raised £250 from that walk.

‘This time he was really interested in skating which he loves to do. Then he saw there was this challenge to do 100 miles for Cancer Research.’

Sullivan decided to complete the Wheel 100 Miles Challenge on his skateboard and set himself the target of raising £100 for Cancer Research UK.

His mum reported ten days into the challenge he had already skated 30 miles and has beaten his £100 target. So far, he has raised £120, excluding Gift Aid, through his Just Giving page.

‘He’s really proud of himself,’ said Kerry. ‘He does have anxiety and he found lockdown quite difficult so for him to have something is great - skating is where he’s meant to be.

‘We have a skate ramp in the garden and he’ll come in saying he’s done 220 lengths which is half a mile and he adds that onto his tally chart.’

Sullivan’s dad is a keen skateboarder himself and introduced his son to the sport, becoming Sullivan’s main skateboarding teacher. Kerry said the two often like to spend time together at the skate park.

Kerry has got involved and supports her son as photographer and tallies up the number of lengths Sullivan completes at the skate park.

‘When I’m there with him, my head goes back and forth as I watch him. If someone comes up to talk to me I can’t answer as I’m busy counting,’ she added.

Sullivan and his family will continue to update his progress on social media.

Across the UK, Wheel 100 Miles participants have raised £175,323, plus £28,931 through Gift Aid, for the charity which will use the money to fund scientists, doctors and nurses to carry out research and work towards curing cancer.

Cancer Research UK was established in 2002 and funds approximately half of all cancer research carried out in the UK.

The charity estimates that one in two people will get cancer in their lifetime.

To donate towards Sullivan’s challenge visit www.fundraise.cancerresearchuk.org/page/sullivans-wheel-100-miles-challenge-giving-page livans-wheel-100-miles-challenge-giving-page?fbclid=IwAR2mbA7hPzKygkARb3bndNLxyeKhOS7pTwKK5_hc1gc0NlTtoCXbVt8y3LY