GRABBING as much shopping as he could, Austen Gray dashed through the aisles of the Co-op in Old Town yesterday all to raise money for charity.

The 50-year-old was in a race against the clock as he only had 90 seconds to run around the supermarket after winning a raffle to take part.

The first Supermarket Sweep-themed fundraiser was organised by the Swindon Lions Club which, through ticket sales, were able to bring in over £1,000 for Swindon Young Carers.

Austen, who is an estate agent by profession, said he couldn’t quite believe that he had been selected at random to take part.

“It was a lot quicker than I usually do my shopping but it was great fun,” the dad-of-three said.

“I buy raffle tickets all the time for charity but most of the time, I just want to help donate money.

“This time it was one of those rare occasions where I thought seeing as it is for a young carers charity I would buy five tickets and then I had the call to last weekend to say I had won to take part in the dash.

“Ninety seconds isn’t as long as you think. I had to try and concentrate and think of things we would use and I thought, seeing as it is Sunday, let’s get things to cook a roast dinner.

“It is such a great cause and you see the Lions around at Christmas time and so it is good to support them as well.”

While there were certain items not included in the dash like, alcohol, tobacco, electrical items and china tableware, Austen managed to pick up £114.74 worth of goods, including meat, pet food and cleaning products.

Swindon Young Carers will use the funds raised to organise activities such as trampolining for the 820 registered young carers in Swindon.

Fiona Prinzi, the interim director of operations at the charity, said: “Our vision is to make sure every young carer is recognised for what they do and that they are valued and supported.

“They shouldn’t be disadvantaged for being a carer and they should have the same entitlement as their peers.

"With events like these it is about raising money but also awareness, which is brilliant.”

Alan Mitchell, the president of the Lions Club, said: “We are absolutely chuffed. It is the first time we have done a trolley dash and because it went down so well, with the store still interested, we will hopefully do it again next year. ”