A FATHER and son duo are teaming up to help raise funds for a pre-school.

Alex and James Ashur are aiming to run and cycle 100km each before the end of the month to raise funds for Chilbolton Pre-school.

Alex confesses he is not particularly keen on running and seven-year-old James, who cycles beside him, isn’t much of a fan of riding his bike either.

But together they are determined to help the local pre-school through difficult times, after all fundraising was halted amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The pair set themselves a target of completing 5km everyday until the end of May, and are already well on their way to hitting their 100km target.

Alex says he and his son wanted to repay the staff for their dedication and hard work during the lockdown.

“During the lockdown, the staff have all provided constant advice, fun and entertainment online for their young students, and without being able to hold their usual fundraising events they will be greatly affected,” he said.

“We really want to help them at a fragile financial time and thought this would be a great way to do it. We only decided on our goal a few days ago, so technically we are each covering 100km in 21 days.”

Caroline Sharp, chairperson of the committee at Chilbolton Pre-School, says that the staff were overwhelmed with Alex and James’s tremendous efforts.

“Our Pre-School has been at the heart of the community for many years providing the building blocks of education for countless children,” she said.

“We are preparing to reopen as soon as we are allowed and can’t wait to welcome the children back. Everything that Alex and James raise will help the Pre-School to keep going in the months ahead where many extra costs will be incurred due to the pandemic.

“We also make a loss on each child whose parents claim the ‘free 15 hours’ Government funding, so we needed to be ambitious with our fundraising this year. Every penny they achieve will be so helpful.”

Alex and James were hoping to raise £500 for the school and have already smashed that total.

To view their fundraiser or donate for yourself go to www.givey.com/chilboltonpreschool

Chilbolton Pre-School is based in Longparish Road, Wherwell, and staff say it currently has a few places left for September for children aged 2.5 to school age.

For more information contact admin@chilboltonpreschool.com.