Wiltshire man's challenge for MS charity which helps his wife

Bob Young will be swimming 5,800 lengths

A 79-year-old is taking on a swimming challenge to raise money for a charity which helps his wife.

Bob Young's wife has had multiple sclerosis (MS) for 15 years, a condition which is getting "steadily worse".

Mr Young will be swimming 5,800 lengths to fundraise for a therapy centre in Warminster, Wiltshire.

He said "keeping spirits up and being positive is absolutely essential" for the couple.

Mr Young said MS is a "life-changing situation" for the person with it and their family.

"I think if you speak to any of the family members of people who have MS, this is a condition that affects not just the person themselves, but all their family.

"It's true, it's a life-changing situation. It's the case with any illness of this kind," he said.

"Keeping spirits up"

Mr Young's wife has a type of MS called primary progressive.

"It just gets steadily worse all the time. There is no respite from it, there is no treatment," he said.

Mr Young aims to swim 91 miles (146km) over the year, the distance it would take to drive from Trowbridge to London.

Since January, he has already made around 90 visits to his local pool in Pewsey, completing an average of 61 lengths each time, and he is nearly at his target.

Bob Young is using the pool at The Vale Community Campus in Pewsey

He is taking on the challenge to raise money for the Wessex MS Therapy Centre in Warminster, whose support has been "most welcome", he said.

The centre is a self-funded charity which offers help to those with MS, but also if people have cancer, injuries, chronic fatigue and many other conditions.

It offers support such as physiotherapy, counselling, massage therapy, nutritional advice and yoga.

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