A generous donation has brought a hurdler one step closer to his dream.

Barking and Dagenham College has awarded motor mechanic student Khai Riley La-Borde £1,000 towards his training after he made the European Under 23 Championship qualifiers last year.

The 19-year-old hopes to follow in the footsteps of champion sprinter and fellow former Barking and Dagenham College student Adam Gemili to compete in the European Championships and Olympics.

Errol Parker, curriculum manager for sports, leisure and public services at the college said: “Training and competing in any sport can become very expensive, so we wanted to make sure that Khai had the best chance possible to reach his goals.”

“Thanks to the help of Barking and Dagenham College, I will hopefully be able to compete abroad more often next year,” Khai said.

“I feel I have much more chance of qualifying for the team.”