A team of Tenby swimmers will be embarking on a 150km challenge next month to raise money for Bone Cancer Trust and help support a local school girl with their ‘Miles for Maddie’ campaign.

The team members made up of a combination of staff from Tenby Leisure Centre and Tenby Aces - Emma Richards, Tracey Thomas, Stephanie Waring, Melanie Morgan and Katherine Devonald Brace will be taking on the ‘Swimathon’ over seven days between March 23 and 29, and are urging members of the public to swim with them the 150km (94 miles) to support their fundraising efforts.

“I became involved in Swimathon last year as a way to challenge myself and support a worthwhile cause, however this year my motivation to do something of value to others was far greater when a close friend of the family was diagnosed with bone cancer at the age of 14,” explained Emma on getting her friends together for the Swimathon.

“Maddox is a school friend of my son and was diagnosed with cancer in August last year. She began treatment the same month and unfortunately in September fell and broke her leg and had to be airlifted to hospital.

“In December, she was transferred to the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital in London where she had a partial amputation of the femur. Unfortunately, this operation was not a success and now Maddie requires a further operation to fully amputate her leg. She is still undergoing Chemotherapy to kill the cancerous cells in her body.

“When I heard what Maddie was going through I wanted to do something to show my support. She is very sporty and has interests in horse riding, swimming, running and shooting, so it seemed natural to do a marathon swim during the annual Swimathon.

“Luckily for me I have some crazy friends and when I told them what I wanted to do they were pretty quick in stepping up to the challenge and so our ‘Miles for Maddie’ challenge was born.

“We understand that in addition to the challenges Maddie is already facing she will have many more as she grows, so we are doing something to show her we stand alongside her and raise money for a really important cause at the same time,” added Emma.

You can donate to the fundraising page set up at: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/milesformaddox