A YOUNG boy from York is taking on a 100-mile walking challenge for Macmillan Cancer Support - after they cared for his grandad during his illness.

Dominic Williams, who lives in Fulford, and his family set him the challenge of walking 100 miles around the local area over a six week period - all to raise money for Macmillan.

The youngster’s mum, Julie Williams, who has been joining her son on his walks, said: “We recently realised that lockdown had hit Dominic more than we knew and his self esteem as been somewhat low.

“So, to give him something positive to focus on and get motivated, he decided he was going to take on this challenge.”

Dominic’s grandad, Stephen, was cared for by Macmillan before he sadly passed away on May 18.

Julie added: “We knew straight away MacMillan was the charity he would raise for as they were fantastic with his grandad over the years with his illness.

“We we’re truly heartbroken, but Dominic is now more determined than ever to finish his 100 miles in memory of his grandad - who was extremely proud of him.”

The nine-year-old has been walking around different areas of York, from along the river to the city centre to around the Knavesmire.

Dominic’s dad, David, who has also been walking alongside his son during the challenge, said: “His favourite place to walk is along the city walls.

“We’ve had some t-shirts printed for when we’re on the walks. They have QR codes on them so people can donate if they want to.

“We’ve had a few anonymous donations, which we think must be from people that have seen Dominic on his travels.”

His family set himself a target of raising £200 for Macmillan, which he has already gone on to smash - raising £400 for the charity already.

David added: “We’re almost half-way through now. We started on May 1 we’re aiming to finish on June 21.”

The 52 Broadway Coffee Shop in the city have praised Dominic’s efforts - saying he is doing an “amazing job”.

“Please donate, no matter how small, to make him one happy boy and support an excellent charity,” Julie went on to say.

To support Dominic’s efforts, visit his donation page at: https://bit.ly/3g7fwHF