AN INSPIRATIONAL youngster, who has cerebral palsy and won hearts all over the country as he tackled a triathlon last year, has returned to the scene of his success to cross the finish line - seven minutes faster.

Nine-year-old Bailey Matthews reached the end of the race at Castle Howard with a smile on his face, flanked by his proud dad, as he showed just how determined he is not to let his disability impact what he can achieve.

The Pride of Britain winner received global recognition at Castle Howard last year when, with the finish line in sight, he abandoned his walking aid and determinedly made it to the end.

This year he completed the children's triathlon, comprising 100m swim, 4km bike ride and 1.3km run, in one hour and 20 minutes.

Bailey's dad, Johnathan Matthews described just how proud he was of his son's achievements.

He said: "I'm so proud of him, it's great to be back.

"He's given this 100 per cent. He never talks or brags about it, he never even mentions it, he just gets on with life and working hard to be a great triathlete.

"I don't think he fully understands just what an achievement it is."

Bailey's mum, Julie Matthews, echoed those sentiments and described just how well Bailey has done in the past year.

She said: "It's a year since Bailey completed the Castle Howard triathlon and I can't believe how much our lives have changed since then.

"It's amazing to see how many children he's inspired and we're so proud of the amount of people who's lives he has made a difference to.

"When he did his first triathlon it came off the back of a huge amount of belief, work, training and determination from a lot of people; his teaching assistant, the people at the Movement Centre at Oswestry, his family, and of course Bailey himself, have all pulled together to support his amazing journey as a triathlete."

Bailey, from Doncaster, South Yorkshire, again pushed away his walking aid to make sure he made it over the line himself.

Since last year's achievements, Bailey has also been awarded the BBC Helen Rollason Sports Personality of the Year Award.