A FEW years ago, Luke Herbert used to glide along at high speed during swimming races at Milton Road Baths.

The 18-year-old from Old Walcot reached the heights of national competition as a breaststroke swimmer with Swindon Dolphin ASC.

But when he was 16, the teenager was given the tragic news that he had an inoperable and terminal brain tumour.

It means that Luke is now confined to the sidelines, but he looked on with pride as his father Stephen and brother Liam took to the water in a marathon fundraising swim.

Liam is only 13, but he set a great example to the dozens of competitors by covering 4,000 metres for the Teenage Cancer Trust.

Stephen, 50, took the early plunge at 6am to get the proceedings under way, but the swim was Liam's idea.

He said: "I was reading a magazine called Aqua Zone, and there was an article about someone called Otto Putland.

"Otto had heard about a 13-year-old swimmer who had cancer and decided to raise funds for Teenage Cancer Trust Hospital Units."

Liam spoke with his coach Andi Manley and they set up the Bank Holiday challenge.

Swimmers, coaches and parents swam a combined total of 225,000 metres, the equivalent of a return journey to London.

It was part of a national effort by clubs to support the Trust and took place over twelve hours.

Elite swimmers were paired up with younger members as the five-person teams powered their way through 100m relays.

Those who thought it would be a relaxing swim and a break from training were disappointed.

Andi had an army of helpers with stop watches keeping track of the metres and times.

He challenged the teams to achieve the best relay time of the day, and that honour went to the quintet of Mark Tanner, Sam Lofts, Ben Clark, Jose Prunty and Megan Jones.

They completed the course in less than six and a half minutes.

Luke's mum Sally brought Luke to the poolside to watch the beginning of the races.

He is not well enough to speak but Sally said he had been overwhelmed by the group effort.

She said: "He has received a lot of help from the trust so this meant a lot for him.

"We noticed when he was first treated at the Radcliffe Infirmary in Oxford that there is a lack of special care for teenagers.

"Luke was too old for the children's ward but too young for the adult, and it makes things harder.

"Cancer is much more aggressive in the teenage years because the body is developing so fast, and the teenage care wards around the country have a track record of achieving better survival rates."

Dolphin spokesman Stephen Westman said: "It was a fantastic effort there, we had friends and family helping at the poolside, baking for the cake stalls and encouraging the swimmers.

"We have already collected £500 and over the next two weeks we're confident of breaking the £2,000 barrier."

The Dolphins have already received significant and generous donations to their challenge from Tigersharks ASC and the Wiltshire BAGCATS competition.

More information on Otto's Challenge and the Teenage Cancer Trust visit www.teenagecancertrust.org