YOUNGSTERS who teamed up to walk nearly 200 miles have helped a fundraising family take a step closer to their charity target.

Junior players from Millom Rugby League Club have handed a cheque for £1,000 to the family of toddler Kaleb Clarke, who suffers from a rare medical condition.

The cash was raised during a sponsored walk in May which saw the young players trek the equivalent distance of Millom to Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool and back.

The feat was one of a long line of charitable gestures that groups and individuals in Millom have carried out for Kaleb, whose aspiration condition means he can’t swallow liquids.

His mum and dad, Keiron and Steph Clarke, set up the Life Saver campaign to raise £20,000 for Alder Hey Children’s Hospital and the Cystic Fibrosis Trust. Last month Mr Clarke, 35, walked the 97 miles from Alder Hey Children’s Hospital, in Liverpool, to Millom, with his friend Wayne Ruddy.

As a show of support, Millom Rugby League Club covered double the distance as members took it in turns to walk the 300m around the outside of the club’s pitch until completing a staggering 1,000 laps between them.

Coach Lewis Upton said: “They were fantastic and we had them from five years old up to about 13 years taking part. It was a good bit of community support, a good way to raise money and awareness off a great cause.”

Also putting his best foot forward for Kaleb was his godfather Paul Middleton, 35, who completed a sponsored Coast to Coast challenge at the weekend.

Mr Middleton and his friend Joe Nuttall set off from St Bees on Friday July 10 and arrived at Robin Hood’s Bay on Sunday.

Kaleb is one of only a handful of children in the country who has the condition which causes food and liquid to get stuck in the lungs.