A KEEN athlete from Nailsworth is gearing up to compete in his first triathlon to raise money for Citizens Advice.

William Goodliffe, who works for Ecotricity, will be taking part in this weekend’s London Triathlon after being inspired by the ‘invaluable’ work which his chosen charity does in the community.

He states that often Citizens Advice is the only place to turn to for help.

“Most of us have heard of Citizens Advice and I’d often seen their logo around in town as I work just down the road from their office,” he said.

“But I’ve recently realised that many people don’t know just how much valuable work they do.

“So I decided to enter this triathlon to support this invaluable and vital charity and help to raise awareness at the same time.”

The Stroud and Cotswolds Citizens Advice are a selfless team of volunteers that provide free, confidential, impartial advice which can range from money issues or relationships problems to housing or employment.

“Over one third of all the people Citizens Advice help have a long-term disability or health problem, often mental health difficulties.

“Having a healthy mind is something most of us take for granted but unfortunately problems can affect any of us at any time and make the simplest of tasks difficult to complete and make the situations people find themselves in much worse.

“Often Citizens Advice is the only place to turn to for help.”

This year’s AJ Bell London Triathlon, which runs from July 22-23 from the Excel Centre in Victoria Docks, continues to be the world’s largest and will see more than 13,000 people take part.

Competitors, watched on by more than 30,000 spectators, will battle across swimming and cycling stages before the final spring to the finish line.

Sally Pickering, CEO of Citizens Advice in Stroud said: “We're so grateful that Will is supporting us and we've all been watching his training progress with excitement.

“Our team of volunteers in Stroud District provide free, confidential, impartial advice to anyone, about anything ranging from money issues or relationships problems, to housing or employment.

“Last year we helped to resolve over 9,500 problems within the Stroud community.

“Around half of these problems were money related and those seeking help felt they could not access advice or help from anywhere else so our service is absolutely vital, as is the support of people like Will to enable us to keep going.”

To donate to Will’s fundraiser visit www.justgiving.com/fundraising/William-Goodliffe