Emmerdale star Alfie Clarke raises more than £5,000 for dementia charity

Emmerdale star Alfie Clarke has raised an incredible £5,000 for charity.

The actor, nine, decided to take part in a charity swim to fundraise for the Alzheimer's Society after his on-screen father Ashley Thomas, played by John Middleton, sadly lost his battle with the condition.

'I play Arthur Thomas in Emmerdale and I've been involved with the story line around the Thomas Family dealing with Ashley's dementia. I would like to promote and raise money for Alzheimer's Society,' Alfie explained on his GoFundMe page.

'On Saturday the 29th of April 2017 @ 10am, I'm going to swim between 20-40 lengths and would really appreciate it if you would sponsor me to support people suffering with dementia.'

On the day, Alfie's proud mum Fiona Clarke shared updates about his swim on Twitter, and it was later revealed that he'd gone above and beyond his goal by completing an impressive 46 lengths.

She told the Huddersfield Daily Examiner: "Alfie managed to do 46 lengths, which was six more than his target.'

'He has raised over £5,100 and the money is still coming in. The swim took him about an hour. He was a bit tired and hungry afterwards, so we went to PAX Burger in Lindley for a treat!'

'He is quite passionate about it. He wants to help people with dementia and their families.'

The donations from friends, family and fans have continued to pour in, with Alfie's current total standing at over £5,400.

'My dad suffered with dementia before he passed away. God bless you for doing this. Well done Alfie xxx,' one contributor wrote on his fundraising page, whilst another added: 'Well done Alfie Clarke - you're an inspirational 9 year old as well as a good little actor in Emmerdale, where you play your part of Arthur (Ashley's son) with such sincere feeling.'