Cycling challenge to help save the sea
A Fishbourne boy is taking on a 30km cycling challenge around Goodwood Motor Cicuit in aid of Surfers Against Sewage,
A trip to West Wittering Beach resulted in six-year-old Alex Mansour being desperate to do everything he could to protect the sea.
His father Shaf Mansour, 43, said: “We were down at the beach and he saw the plastic on the tideline and he asked about it.
“So we explained to him that it gets washed up and is pollution, and he was genuinely quite upset about it and said what can we do about it and he wanted to sit there and scoop it all up.”
Alex said: “Plastic is causing damage to animals at sea and on land. I want to do something about it.”
Being a fond surfer and an eager cyclist, Alex decided to raise money for Surfers Against Sewage, a marine conservation charity working with communities to protect oceans, waves, beaches and marine life.
So far Alex has raised 78 per cent of his £500 target.
The training for the sizeable
cycle has been reported to be going very well – this is despite Alex catching Covid-19, forcing him to be isolated for a few days.
To make matters worse, he injured his arm afterwards, so was again unable to get back on the bike, but Alex seems undeterred and still eager to raise the money.
Shaf said: “He was slowed down a bit, but he’s a little trouper.”
Understandably Alex’s admirable endeavour has been met with huge encouragement from the community and further afield.
Shaf said: “The response has been amazing, the first couple of weeks when he was just collecting the plastic, people would come up to him and ask about what he was doing and encourage him.
“All family and friends have been incredibly supportive, I put a link on my linked-in and people I don’t even know very well have donated.
“It has been very well received, I think generally people like to see youngsters taking a lead on this stuff and taking action.”
To donate visit: www. justgiving.com/fundraising/ saveoursea