TWO brothers have gone all out to help a struggling zoo by taking part in their own dirt bike challenge.

Aston, six, and Hughie Kightly, three, have managed to raise nearly £500 for Colchester Zoo after completing a one hour dirt bike marathon on their very own homemade trials track.

The brothers, who are from Wickham St Paul, were worried about Colchester Zoo shutting and not having enough money to feed the animals because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Aston even wrote a letter to his MP, James Cleverly, to try and persuade the Government to reopen zoos.

He said: “I wanted to raise money for Colchester Zoo so that the animals can be fed and the zoo can stay open forever.”

Both boys love riding their bikes and decided to do a sponsored challenge to fundraise for the zoo.

With the help of Kate and Brian Finney, the boys’ grandparents, they managed to build a mini trials track in their front garden.

The track was complete with homemade pallet ramps and a route that when up into and through their grandad’s van.

Aston successfully rode his electric bike 246 times around the circuit without stopping, while Hughie also rode for 20 minutes and even attempted to drive up the ramps.

The challenge saw the boys raise £498 and hope the cash will provide a much needed boost for Colchester Zoo.

The zoo was given the all clear to reopen for the first time in nearly three months last week having warned it could be forced to close permanently because of the financial impact of the pandemic.