Alfie Waker is a six-year-old boy with a big heart.

On Sunday, the North Bradley School pupil from Westbury will be embarking on a sponsored bike ride to raise money for HorseWorld in Bristol, a leading UK charity funded entirely by public donations.

“Alfie fell in love, from a very early age, with the dray horses in Devizes,” said his father, Martin Waker.

“One of them, Tom, retired to HorseWorld with arthritis in his shoulder. We’ve had to become regular visitors.

“We adopted him on their adoption scheme and just had our certificate through the post for the second year. When we got it Alfie turned around and said, ‘I’d like to raise some money for HorseWorld and Tom’. It was all off his back, no prompting.”

The father and son, who regularly go out cycling together with their dogs, will be cycling 12 miles along the towpath from Devizes to Bradford on Avon, a distance three times that of their usual rides.

Alfie himself had other ideas: “He wanted to do it through Westbury and wanted us to phone the police and get them to close the roads!” said Mr Waker.

“We chose the route because it is nice and flat. Hopefully the weather will stay good. He’s more than capable of doing it. The minute we told him that we had organised it he was right up for it and has been counting down the days. He told all his school friends and the headteacher before we did.”

When Wadworth Brewery in Devizes heard about the sponsored cycle they sent the pair a T-shirt each and the managing director, Charles Bartholomew, invited them to start the ride from their stables. They will meet there at 9.30am and Alfie will have chance to meet the dray horses before setting out at 10am.

Horse-mad Alfie has already raised £350 through his online justgiving page, but is hoping to raise even more.

If you would like to sponsor him you can do so at www.justgiving.com/Alfie-Waker.

HorseWorld rescues, rehabilitates and rehomes horses, ponies and donkeys who have been neglected or mistreated. To find out more, visit www.horseworld.org.uk.