FRIEND of Treetops School and prolific fundraiser Samuel Turner has completed his latest effort for the borough special school he used to attend.

Samuel, 28, now lives in Llansaint in Wales but is originally from Stanford-le-Hope

His was a pupil at Treetops School in Grays, between 2005 to 2016 and is now an honorary member of its charitable trust - Friends of Treetops School - even having a classroom named after him last October, which he opened.

Students at Treetops are aged between five and 19, with moderate learning difficulties and many are on the autistic spectrum, with speech and language problems.

The school played a pivotal role in the education of Samuel, who is autistic and in his latest effort to say thanks, he has completed a sponsored tricycle ride to coincide with Autism Acceptance Month in April.

Samuel said: "On Thursday, April 3, I rode on my red tricycle from The King's Arms pub and covering 2.2 miles around Llansaint to raise as much money as I can for the Friends of Treetops School.

Samuel after his sponsored swim.

"Last year, I did a 20 lengths sponsored swim in aid of the school at the leisure centre in Johnstown, Carmarthen, raising £700."

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Samuel has supported good causes for many years and won awards for his efforts, shining the spotlight on autism and supporting charities.

He is an also a short film-maker, beginning when he was just 11-years-old and in 2019 he won an award at the Wales International Film Festival in Neath for his short film about overcoming the obstacles of living with autism.

He has also written a book called The Autistic Side of Love and has raised more than £2,000 for the charity Cerebra UK, which has its headquarters in Carmarthen, by doing runs, and community events.

He was nominated by Cerebra, and took the title of Fundraiser of the Year in Wales in 2020 and in the same year featured at the Pride of Britain Awards.

Samuel has a JustGiving page here for his trike ride, which currently sits at £633.

In addition direct donations from the Kings Arms have added £285.