A FIVE-YEAR-OLD boy and his pet pony completed a seven-mile sponsored ride in the pouring rain to raise money for a new village hall.

Henley Mills and his pony Radish took part in the Bissell Wood Fun Ride on Saturday (June 15) to pay for flooring at the new Upper Arley Memorial Hall, which is under construction.

The new village hall, which is expected to be completed at the end of July, will be used by Henley and fellow Upper Arley CE Primary School students during PE lessons.

Henley's mum Lisa Mundie, aged 37, said: "The school asked the children to come up with some ideas for fundraisers to help pay for the floor at the new village hall and Henley decided he wanted to do a fun ride.

"He loves to ride. Henley has muscle problems in his legs and can't walk very far, so he uses the pony to get around. Radish is Henley's legs. They're inseparable.

Kidderminster Shuttle:

"It was pouring with rain but it didn't put Henley off. He was really proud of himself."

Henley and Radish raised £300 towards the new memorial hall, which will replace the 60-year-old wooden village hall, which had started to rot.

Louvain Beer, chair of the hall committee, said: "We're nearly finished building the memorial hall.

"The Lottery put in nearly £180,000, which will pay for a brand new hall, new meeting room and an upgraded bar.

"We've been fundraising for a long time but we now we need to pay for those finishing touches - in particular the flooring because the room will be used by the school next door.

"The village has really pulled together to help us raise the money.

"We're a really small village but we had a lot of people die in both world wars so this hall will be a fitting tribute to them."

To donate towards the memorial hall, visit bit.ly/2WNjDwO.