A BOY has launched his school holidays by completing a triathlon of his own making to raise money for Diabetes UK.

William Gibbons, ten, raised £655 for the charity as several of his family members have been diagnosed with the disease.

William from Witton-le-Wear, County Durham, had wanted to take part in an official triathlon but he could not find one for his age that was challenging enough.

So he devised his own and upon its completion vowed to do more.

He said: “I felt fine, it was hot but then the cloud came over which cooled it down a bit.”

William, a pupil at Barnard Castle School, started with a three mile bike ride, which took him 17 minutes to complete, before running two miles in 18 minutes on a track near his home.

He then swam 200m in eight minutes at Bishop Auckland swimming pool.

William said: “I wanted to do something for the charity because of my family, I will do loads more in the future.”

His mother Samantha said she was very proud of William’s achievement.

She said: “He has done so well, this was entirely his idea and we are so proud of him.”

For more information or to donate to William’s efforts, visit justgiving.com/Wiliam-Gibbons11/