A PARTIALLY deaf nine-year-old has raised nearly ten times as much money for charity as he had hoped.

Josh Carter, who lives near Wantage in Steventon, has been raising money for Hearing Dogs for Deaf People by cycling with his family for a combined distance of more than 200 miles.

The youngster, who wears a hearing aid and has ADHD, originally set himself a target of cycling 50 miles and raising £50 for the charity, but after around seven weeks he has already raised £485.

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'Proud step mum' Morwenna Carter explained that Josh's idea was sparked by his step grandmother's 60th birthday fundraiser and that he picked the charity because of his hearing issues, love of dogs and since he might need a guide dog later in life.

She added: "As his Dad James is a keen cyclist also, we thought it'd be a great idea and he started his challenge with Dad cycling along with him for support.

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"After 10 days, Josh and James had cycled 50 miles so Josh decided to up the anti and re-set his target to 150 miles.

"We've all joined in cycling some miles with him; I've done about 50 miles and his sister Poppy, seven, has done around 60 miles. Even Joshua's Grampy Carter has cycled 10 miles with him to help. It's a real Carter family team effort."

Josh and his Dad have cycled more than 160 miles to date and plan to keep going until the end of July.