Teenager David Yates is preparing to represent England in the biggest event of his career so far.

On July 2, the 16-year-old from Upton, near Didcot, will travel to Connecticutt, USA, for the Cerebral Palsy World Championships.

And having completed his GCSEs at St Birinus School, he is now looking forward to testing himself against the world's best swimmers in his category.

Yates said: "This is the first time that I've reached the world championships.

"The 400m freestyle is my best event, but I will also be in the 200m individual medley, the 100m breaststroke and possibly a few others."

He added: "At the moment it has been exams, but usually I will train for about ten to 12 hours a week."

The championships take place every four years in different countries.

This year there are seven sports and about 130 athletes competing, including 21 swimmers.

Yates trains with Abingdon Vale Swimming Club most days as well as going to The Wave in Didcot before school.

He is now in his second year on the Disability World Class Programme, run by British Swimming, and regularly attends training camps.

In November he was crowned Young Sportsperson of the Year by the organisation CP (Cerebral Palsy) Sport.

Yates said: "I'm going to step up my training to get back to fitness and then I will taper it down beforehand. It's all about getting race sharp."

He reached the world championships by making the 400m free qualifying time, but he still had to raise £1,500 to fund the dream trip to the USA.

Thanks to several generous donations, notably from Didcot Rotary Club, Abingdon Round Table and Oxfordshire Active Sport, he has now reached that mark.

His mum, Francoise, said: "Everybody has been very supportive of him.

"In the end, we had to turn down some money, it has been so successful."