A COURAGEOUS youngster jumped in at the deep end and overcame her fears to raise hundreds for a motor neurone disease charity. 

Imogen Stone, 11, spent the past year tackling her fear of water and learning to swim in preparation for a sponsored swim which raised over £700 for the Motor Neurone Disease Association (MNDA). 

Imogen, of Silklake Mews, Portland, completed 25 lengths of Weymouth Swimming Pool in half-an-hour in honour of her family friend Gordon Lambert who is living with the disease. 

She said: "I had to catch my breath after five minutes but after that I was alright. I started off with the breaststroke, then I did the front crawl and one length of butterfly. 

"I told everyone I was going to do a surprise stroke at the end which was a twisting stroke called the corkscrew where you do one arm of front crawl and then twist over and do the rest in back crawl."

In the months leading up to the event Imogen worked hard liaising with the pool and the charity to organise the event and well as reaching out for sponsorship. 

She said: "I am very proud because I have overcome my fear and I feel like I have also helped raise awareness. I have explained MND to a couple of people when I have asked them if they will sponsor me so I feel like more people know about it now."

Mr Lambert, 72, suffers from terminal MND, a progressive disease that attacks the nerves in the brain and spinal cord, gradually stopping messages reaching the muscles and leading to weakness and wasting.

Speaking to the Echo before the event he said he "couldn’t be more proud" of Imogen who he used to play and run around with when she was little. 
Through all her hard work Imogen smashed her initial £500 target and will now donate the £700 to the MNDA, the only national charity dedicated to improving care, promoting research, and raising awareness or the disease. 

Chris Walker, Imogen’s grandmother who cheered her on from the poolside, said: "She has worked really hard and we are all proud of her. Gordon wasn’t able to go because he’s not well but she was in his thoughts. Imogen has showed him all the pictures from the swim. 

"We want to say thank you to everyone who supported Imogen and helped organise the event."