A SPORTS-MAD six-year-old from Great Sankey has cycled 100km in June to complete a charity challenge to help save Chester Zoo.

Olly Byrne clocked up the kilometres in both torrential rain and searing heat because he said he wanted to save the zoo’s newborn animals – and raised £1,380 in the process.

In June, the Zoo said it was facing indefinite closure due to the government’s lockdown hurting finances.

His mum Lyndsey said: “I’m extremely proud.

"Anyone who knows Olly knows that he’s active, so this lockdown’s been hard to keep him indoors, not to have his football, not to have his school friends.

“He’s done so well, we’re really proud of him.”

In fact, Olly’s football obsession made his cycling task even more difficult due to the fact he injured his foot when playing at home the week before he finished.

Lyndsey added: “He’s always kicking a ball, and one time he missed the ball and hit the table in the living room and we thought he broke his foot.

“He had to go to A&E.

"It turned out that he hadn't broken his foot, but he had damaged all the nerves in his foot and he had soft tissue damage.

“He still had 27km to do, fortunately the next day he was up and about again!”

Olly has since gone on to receive praise from football coaches, teachers, and parents at Chapelford Village Primary School on his return to class.

As a well done treat, the family made their first post-lockdown trip to Chester Zoo last weekend, with Olly saying he’s 'so excited' to see the meerkats and giraffes.