A parent who will swim the Channel has been given a fundraising boost by children at Perry Wood Primary and Nursery School.

Alan Gale, who has a child at the school, will take on the challenge to swim the 21 miles from England to France to raise money for Acorns children's hospice.

Mr Gale wants to raise £10,000 for the hospice as a personal thank you for the help he and his family received for their son Harry, who died, aged just 10 months, in 2007.

All of the children paid £1 towards the challenge and dressed in mad clothes for a Mad March day on Friday, March 28.

The schoolchildren raised £270.

Mandie Fitzgerald, community fundraiser at Acorns for the Three Counties based in Worcester said: “On behalf of everyone at Acorns, I’d like to say a big thank you to all the staff and pupils at Perry Wood Primary and Nursery School for getting behind Al and his huge fundraising efforts.

"Acorns is currently supporting nearly 180 local life-limited and life-threatened children and over 230 families, included those that are bereaved.

"Our services include respite/short breaks, emergency and end-of-life care; and a community team to support the family 24-hours a day, seven days a week.

"We do not charge families but it does cost £750 per child per day to provide this level of specialist palliative care.

"We rely on voluntary income and fundraising for the majority of our income so the support of the local community is absolutely vital to us being able to continue to operate.”

Mr Gale plans to take on the challenge in August.