Marley, 4, gears up for his TEN MILE charity bike ride tomorrow – with the promise of pudding at halfway stage

Cycling-mad four-year-old Marley Keen is gearing up for his epic TEN MILE charity bike ride – with the promise of a pudding at the half way point.

Little Marley wanted to raise money to help Australian wildlife after seeing footage of the devastating bushfires which have also resulted in damage to over 3,000 homes since December.

The Poole youngster sets off on his bike tomorrow and a GoFundMe set up by his mother has already raised over £1,000 – surpassing the initial goal of £100.

Marley, who has been training for tomorrow’s ride along the Castleman Trailway, is in high spirits.

His father Ben Keen said: “Marley is feeling excited, especially about the pudding his mum has promised him when he reaches half of the ride at Willett Arms pub.”

He continued: “He is happy that he reached over £1000. The family can’t believe how people have rallied behind him and helped him smash his fund raising goal!”

His school teacher Becky Gdesis was the member of staff at Upton Infants School who played footage of the Australian fires to pupils in order to raise awareness of the wildfires.

“Every week in school we watch the news,” she said.

“From there Marley decided he wanted to do the bike ride to raise money for the animals.”

She continued: “We are all so proud of his attitude and his empathy. I can’t believe he has raised so much! We have been keeping the school updated on his progress and urged everybody to donate. Here at the school, spirits are very high today before the bike ride.”

You can donate to Marley’s cause here. Stay tuned to BUzz for more updates on the upcoming fundraising bike ride.