After 13 successful years, Somerset sports charity TS5C is to hang up its running shoes and will close by the end of 2020.

It was established in 2007 by Alan Gloak, the former chair of Somerset County Council and Mayor of Glastonbury.

TS5C (Team Somerset 500 Club) was initially set up to support young aspiring athletes in Somerset who had the potential, but lacked the money or facilities, to represent Team GB at the London 2012 Olympics.

After the London Games, the charity continued to fund aspiring athletes working towards Rio 2016 and more recently Tokyo 2020.

Its remit also expanded to support healthy living projects, a wheelchair basketball initiative, and numerous sports clubs and events.

All In all, TS5C has raised and distributed more than £250,000 to almost 150 aspiring athletes and supported more than a dozen health and wellbeing projects throughout Somerset.

Alan said: "We only intended the charity to be a short-term project, but it grew into something much larger.

"Regrettably, the trying conditions of 2020, and the difficulty of raising funds in the prevailing climate makes this a sensible time to call it quits."

TS5C leaves a legacy of the TS5C Healthy Living Fund which will continue to be administered through the Somerset Community Foundation. It will be open to applications from groups linked to sport and healthy living projects.

Since announcing the closure of TS5C, Alan has received many messages from grateful athletes to thank him for the contribution the charity has made on their sporting path, not only financially but, as one aspiring Olympic swimmer put it: "it also made me feel that someone outside the family and the swimming circle believed in me and believed I had the ability to achieve my goals."

Alan said: "I think we can be justifiably proud of what we, as a small self-funded charity, have achieved and I'd like to thank everyone who has supported TS5C over the years. We wish all our athletes, past and present, every success for the future."