Boy with brain tumour completes paddle board challenge

An 11-year-old boy who was left severely visually impaired by three brain tumours has paddle boarded solo for three miles.

Asher Jenkin Jones started at Caldey Island, off the south west Wales coast, and finished at Tenby harbour.

The youngster from Nottingham said: "I don't want people to underestimate what I can do.

"I want to show everyone that people who have disabilities can do great things too."

Asher was diagnosed with the tumours when he was 10 months old.

He received treatment at the Children's Brain Tumour Research Centre in Nottingham with major surgery to remove one tumour, followed by three years of chemotherapy.

Despite being visually impaired, Asher, who goes to The Elms School in Long Eaton, took up paddle boarding a year ago and also enjoys skiing, judo and goalball.

He is raising money for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, Royal National Institute of Blind People and the Children's Brain Tumour Research Centre at The University of Nottingham.

The family spend a lot of time in Tenby and Asher's grandfather was a supporter of Tenby RNLI.

The schoolboy's father Tony said: "Asher amazes everyone he meets and people see his amazing abilities rather than his disabilities - what he can do not what he can't do.

"In fact, because of his positive attitude and bubbly personality, they soon forget he has a disability at all.

"Early diagnosis of children's brain tumours is critical and could be the crucial difference between either losing your children or getting effective treatment which could lead to a good quality of life.

"We were fortunate enough to have had an early diagnosis and I'm sure that has had an enormous impact on Asher's life.

"Treatment ensured that the brain tumour stopped growing and is not currently life-threatening but we couldn't save much of his sight."