A Bowthorpe teenager is gearing up for a gruelling day-long cycle from Norwich to London to raise funds for a children's hospital.

Sixteen-year-old Lewis Swatman will set off from the Forum at 6am tomorrow to say a personal thank you to staff at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) that saved his elder brother's life.

The Ormiston Victory Academy student is aiming to complete the 128 mile journey by 5pm on Saturday and is set to raise more than £1,500 for the children's hospital.

Lewis' brother, Wayne Swatman, was only given weeks to live when he was born because of a serious heart condition. However, Wayne, who was born with Down's Syndrome, battled on despite the prognosis and a set back when he suffered meningitis at the age of six months. Thanks to the care of staff at GOSH, surgeons repaired the holes and leaking valves in his heart when he was five-years-old.

Lewis has already surpassed his £1,000 fundraising target to express his family's gratitude for the care his brother received over the course of his childhood. Wayne, who is now 25, leads and full and happy life.

The teenager, of Craske Mews, Bowthorpe, will be accompanied on the cycle ride to London with experienced cyclist Martin Anderton.

His mother Jane Swatman said Lewis had been training hard for the challenge.

'The school has done a lot for him and when people are struggling with money he has done really well and people have been really generous. People have been stopping us in the street and talking about it. Unless you have a child who is ill it is another hospital in London that you do not think about,' she said.

Lewis can be sponsored at www.justgiving.com/lewis-swatman