Donation pledges and messages of support have flooded into Dawlish Swimming Club in the six weeks since it launched a crowdfunding appeal to raise the £20,000 that will secure its future.

But with just a few days to go, the club is still slightly short of its fundraising target, and chairman Dom Kennedy-Bruyneels is asking anyone who can spare a bit of cash to help make up the shortfall.

At the time of writing, £18,791 had been pledged, including £8,000 from Sport England, and plenty of smaller amounts from local supporters.

But if the total target amount is not reached, the Sport England funding will not be forthcoming.

Dom said: "This is a difficult time of year for people, with Covid-19 and Christmas, and people being furloughed from work.

"But we've been surprised by the generosity of people joining the campaign, both within our club and outside. We can't believe it really."

Among the gestures of support have been donations of 'rewards' – some in the form of raffle prizes that people can bid for a chance to win, and others they can buy outright with their donation.

There are also business sponsorship opportunities.

Club 'sets children up for life's challenges'

Members of the local community have expressed their support for the club in messages left on the Crowdfunder page.

One person said: "We are supporting Dawlish Swimming Club because they make our granddaughter happy and that means the world to us."

Another said: "Amazing local swimming club that we love to support. The children get so much more out of this club than just fitness. It sets them up for life's challenges."

A third said: "The club has and will continue to support our community's young people through this crisis and we're so grateful for this bit of normality."

If the club does raise enough money to compensate for the amount lost because of the Covid-19 crisis, it is promising to extend its activities to benefit more local people, including children from disadvantaged families, and adults with disabilities.

Read more here: How swimming club's lifesaving fundraising campaign will benefit Dawlish's community.

To make a pledge, or see the rewards that can be bought or bid for, visit the club's Crowdfunder page.