»A young Barkingside schoolboy is proving it is never too young to help others by raising money for less fortunate children.

Corey Layton, 10, is one of the youngest Redbridge people to be nominated for the Recorder/Rotary Club Young Citizen Award.

The Clore Tikva Primary School pupil raised more than £100 with a sponsored swim for the NSPCC earlier this year.

Fellow pupils joined sponsored PE sessions at the school in Fullwell Avenue, Barkingside, but Corey was inspired to go the extra mile.

He said: “A woman came into assembly and told us about some of the children they help. It was really sad.

“As well as doing the PE, I wanted to give myself an extra challenge and gave myself a target of 50 lengths.

“I was really happy with what I raised, I definitely want to do it again.”

Corey, who goes to swimming lessons every week, swam a total of 58 lengths – almost a mile – at Central Park Leisure Centre in Romford to raise the money.

His effort helped the school towards raising £4,745 for the children’s charity and Corey was given a certificate for his amazing contribution by NSPCC schools organiser Caroline Roughley.

Headteacher Lenna Rosenberg said every one of the school’s 420 children chipped in to sponsored PE sessions.

She added: “We couldn’t believe how much we raised - I don’t think we’ve ever got so much for any charity.

“It’s part of the school’s ethos to help charities and they do great work.”

Dad Jason said it is not the first time Corey has gone the extra length for charity.

He added: “He always goes out of his way and makes the extra effort.

“I’m so proud of what he’s doing.”

The NSPCC aims to stop cruelty to children and runs ChildLine, a free helpline for children in need of advice.