ONE of the youngest swimmers in the region has put her new-found skills to good use already by raising more than £500 for charity - despite only being one year old.

Little Mia Holden from Wroughton has been named the highest Water Babies fundraiser of North Wiltshire for Splashathon by raising a total of £513.75.

Her family's fundraising efforts form part of the eye-watering £11,156.14 raised by Water Babies Gloucestershire and North Wiltshire - which in turn makes up the record-breaking total of £1,151,042.12 raised by Water Babies nationally in just two months.

Splashathon raises money for Tommy’s, the charity that funds research into miscarriage, premature birth and stillbirth and is an event that allows babies to raise money to save other babies’ lives.

Mia and her family threw themselves into the fun (and the pool), dressed in fancy dress, swimming a sponsored width, all for a truly worthy cause.

This year’s spectacular effort, added to previous Splashathon totals, takes the full amount raised nationally by Water Babies to more than £3 million. An amount that becomes even more mind-blowing when you realise it has been raised by children, some as young as only a few weeks and none older than four years of age.

Claire Southworth, company director of Water Babies across Gloucestershire and North Wiltshire said: “We are very proud of Mia for taking part so enthusiastically and raising so much money to help other babies and their families. She is always a keen member of the class and her parents must be ever so proud.

"We are over the moon to have raised so much this year, not to mention smashing our national cumulative target of £3 million. We are overwhelmed by the effort shown by all our little swimmers and their families and we’d like to say a really big thank you to all those who took part and also those who donated. Tommy’s is obviously a charity close to many parents’ hearts.”

Her mum Kelly Holden said that Mia had loved splashing her way through the fundraising event She said: "We are so pleased that we won but even more pleased at how much was raised in total. What an achievement!”

One in four parents will lose a baby during pregnancy or birth. As well as funding research, Tommy’s provides advice and support for all parents-to-be to help them have a healthy pregnancy and baby. The money raised by Water Babies will be used to fund projects aimed at reducing the number of babies that die due to miscarriage, premature birth and stillbirth.

Jane Brewin, Tommy’s chief executive said: “We are overwhelmed by the number of children who took part in the campaign this year and by the generosity of those who have taken the time to donate their money to the cause. It really will make a difference and help us to help more families have a healthy, happy baby.”