RAGLAN lad, Dante Valaydon-Pillay has gone on to complete his seventh challenge, out of his ambitious twelve fundraisers for Children in Need.

On April 20, the 12-year-old completed an impressive 25 miles cycling back and forth over the Seven Bridge from England to Wales. The youngster had initially set himself a target of cycling ten times back and forth over the 2.5 mile span of the bridge.

He said: “My mum's friend suggested I cycle over the bridge and I thought that was a cool idea as I love cycling”.

Dante started his fundraising journey after his mother was struck down by a series of major strokes when he was just six-years-old. While Dante and his family were both cared for by kind family and friends, it was during this time when Dante realised that not all children are as fortunate.

This prompted him to set about raising money for the charity Children in Need - leading to a series of incredible adventures.

In his Easter holidays of 2022 he hiked up the Sugarloaf everyday for five days; raising over £1500. As a result of his massive effort, he won the BBC Sir Terry Wogan Young Fundraiser of the Year.

He then continued his fundraising by starting a 12 month charity challenge and in December 2023 won another accolade, The Pride of Gwent Fundraiser of the Year Award for his achievements.

Since then, he has climbed and abseiled 210 ft up and down Clifton Gorge, ran a 5k, baked over 50 Christmas cakes for the elderly, helped out at a Foodbank, sold his own artwork, and sang in front of 5000 rugby fans, followed this month by his Seven Bridge cycle.

Completing his challenge, he said: “Wow I've done it! I've completed my seventh charity challenge for Children in Need and I'm so proud of myself for completing it. It was hard going up the bridge but easy going down but I enjoyed every moment. I hope people like what I'm doing and donate, it's a worthwhile cause!”

If you would like to support Dante’s cause, head to justgiving.com/page/dante321go