A YOUNG cyclist biked 33 miles in a day to raise money for his primary school.

Aayush Danej, 11, is an outgoing Year 6 student at Lee Chapel Primary School in Basildon.

He is due to start New Hall School in Chelmsford in September, but as a thank you to his primary school he wanted to raise money to help them get new equipment.

Aayush, of Glenwood Gardens, Laindon, along with his father Bhushan Danej and two friends, cycled from Basildon to Buckingham Palace.

After the journey, he has managed to raise £700 for the school.

Mr Danej said: “Aayush impressively completed his challenge in a four-hour stint, and raised £700 for the school.

“He believes that the school will invest this money in building sporting facilities for his junior friends.

“Aayush want to inspire others with a message, ‘you can achieve if you believe in your dreams whole-heartedly’. He has done his part by raising the funds for the school and would like to see others doing it for their school too.”

The father and son had the idea of doing the ride several months ago, and spent around six weeks preparing, as it would be Aayush’s first long distance cycle on roads.

Mr Danej said: “It wasn’t a spur of the moment thing, we knew his time at the school was coming to a close and I said to him we would have to do something to thank them.

“He’s been there for seven years, and he and those at the school have really bonded over that time.

“They’ve been very supportive and he’s been incredibly happy.

“It’s an absolutely wonderful school.”

Mr Danej added: “I am very, very proud of him. It was hard work but I think he enjoyed it a lot.

“The weather was very good, we did it in good time, and I’m glad he could finish it and give something back to his school which has helped him so much.

“We hope they can put the money we raised to good use, we had a really good response from everyone.”