A 4-year old boy from Kingston who was born two months prematurely is taking on a charity swim to raise money for a new £35,000 incubator for Kingston Hospital’s neonatal unit.

Dhillon Manku, 4, of Warren Drive South, who weighed 3lb 9oz at birth, will be swimming a length of the pool at Hook swim school on his fifth birthday on Tuesday, October 2.

Dhillon’s fundraising campaign was plugged on social media by the British singer and songwriter Jay Sean, whose wife gave birth to a son in August.

In a Twitter post, the musician wrote: “In light of today’s news regarding my baby boy, this touched my heart. Pls find a minute to do something good today.

“Dhillon was born 2 months premature and now 5 yrs old he wants to do a sponsored swim to raise money to help other premature babies”.

The money raised will go to Born Too Soon, a charity which Dhillon’s mum, Sharn Manku, 35, said helped keep her son alive.

“It was quite traumatic for our family and, following on that from that he spent the first two months of his life in that neonatal unit.

“As Dhillon got older we started to explain to him that he had been born prematurely, and he said to us, can we buy an incubator for the hospital?

“For my son to say that he wants to do this is heart-warming. And he said ‘mummy, can I be a doctor to look after parents’ children?”

So far, Dhillon has raised £3,432 of his £35,000 target, with several £100 and £250 donations.

To donate, just search for “Dhillon Manku” on JustGiving.com.