MAGNIFICENT Molly Martin brought the house down when she took part in the Sport Relief Swimathon at Dudley Leisure Centre.

The 12-year-old, who attends Summerhill School in Kingswinford, battled her way to the point of exhaustion to complete her target of 400 metres.

It took Molly 50 minutes to finish the swim – much quicker than anyone expected - and that’s because Molly suffers from cerebral palsy.

Proud mum Jane Morton admitted: “It got quite emotional when Molly completed her swim.

“There were quite a number of people taking part in the Swimathon, so the staff had to rope off an area for her to swim in and Molly ended up swimming a total of 20 lengths over 20 metres.

“It was made more difficult by the amount of swell she had to fight against.

But when she finished, everyone stopped and applauded.

“It brought tears to my eyes.”

Molly, who lives in Russells Hall, raised over £800 in sponsorship and is already making plans for next year’s attempt.

Mum Jane added: “Molly loves swimming and attends lessons every Saturday. She enters and exits the pool by hoist, but once she’s in, it’s her freedom and she can be on her own.

“Next time, she’s looking to beat the 600 metre mark.”