A CHALLENGE chaser has completed a wet and windy triathlon in support of a baby with a severely underdeveloped heart.

Lewis Dare, ten, finished his solo triathlon in one hour 45 minutes in aid of Jude Edwards who was born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome.

The nine-month-old, from Harwich, was born with the life-threatening condition which affects normal blood flow through his heart.

He had to spend the first six months of his life in the Royal Brompton Hospital, in London, to undergo major operations.

When Lewis was told about Jude coming out of hospital in recent months, he decided he wanted to fundraise for the Royal Brompton Fountain, which supports very ill children in the care of the hospital.

Lewis set a target of raising £1,000 for the charity, which he has managed to reach with the help of generous donations.

To raise money for the fountain, Lewis swam 51 lengths of the Dovercourt Bay Lifestyles pool.

He then dried off and cycled 10km, before running 5km along Dovercourt seafront on July 27.

Lewis' mum Vanessa Dare, 41, said the weather was cold and rainy on the day of the triathlon.

She said: "Lewis was a bit nervous to start off with, but he did really well and completed the swim in 35 minutes.

"He found the running particularly difficult as it was the last of the three challenges.

"It also poured down with rain and was freezing cold while Lewis ran 5km."

But Lewis, of Oakland Road, Dovercourt, was cheered on by Jude's family throughout the day to give him the encouragement he needed to complete the triathlon.

Vanessa added: "We are extremely proud he wanted to do something all on his own for a fantastic cause and we want to thank everyone who supported him.

"Jude's family was so grateful and thought it was an amazing thing for him to do.

"Lewis is very proud of himself too."

Last year Lewis raised £900 by swimming 40 lengths of a 25-metre pool then running 5km in a solo biathlon for the Sick Children’s Trust in the name of Ben Wickens, eight, who has a rare form of adult leukaemia.

He is hoping to complete another sponsored triathlon next year.

To sponsor Lewis visit justgiving.com/fundraising/jude-edwards.