A YOUNG Wisbech sportsman has won through to the final of Cambridgeshire Constabulary Young People of the Year.

Eleven-year-old Frank Etherington is a talented player for Wisbech Rugby Club but he has also raised over �1,000 for them.

His father Shaun, who nominated his son for YOPEY, said: “Frank has shown that hard work, giving and respect for others does not begin and end on the rugby field. He is a young gentleman.”

Frank and the rest of his family and supporters are off to Ely Cathedral on October 3 for him to compete in the 2012 YOPEY final.

He is the youngest finalist in a field that includes an air cadet, young carers, anti-smoking campaigners and previously troubled young people who have turned their lives around.

Frank�s latest fundraising activity saw him become the youngest person to complete a full marathon in the Peak District. The Leaden Boot Marathon includes a gruelling ascent up a 5,800ft hill. Frank completed the course, accompanied by his 45-year-old father in nine hours 53 minutes and raised �400.

“I was just so relieved when I had completed the marathon, I felt like I deserved the sponsor money,” said Frank, a former pupil of Orchards Primary School in Wisbech who now attends Thomas Clarkson Academy.

He used the money to buy a much-needed baby-changing table for the club.

Frank also fundraises by rattling a bucket during special games, collecting donations for the sport he loves. He will also do things for the club that do not raise money, from painting the clubhouse to handing out oranges at half-time.

Proud dad Shaun said: “Frank’s decision to spend the money on a drop-down baby-changing facility at Wisbech Rugby Club was all his idea.”

Frank’s mother is now heavily involved in the club’s catering department while his father has become club chairman. His two older sisters also help out.