NOT all heroes wear capes, but in this case they do.

Mini super-heroes in Bolton have been doing their bit to save babies' lives in a charity splashathon.

Tots from the Water Babies swimming group and their parents dressed as their favourite super-hero to raise money for the baby charity, Tommy’s.

Tommy's raises money to fund medical research into the causes and prevention of miscarriage, premature birth and stillbirth.

The local group of Water Babies helped to raise more than £18,000 from the event.

The splashathon involved youngsters swimming two widths of the pool with their parents to complete the challenge.

Holly Unsworth, a Water Babies instructor, said: “We hold the event every two years — each year has a different theme.

“We had a splashathon song and super-hero games. It’s doing something that’s not the norm, so it’s a good laugh and for an amazing charity.”

Fourteen-month-old Thea Coles from Bolton joined in the fun at Bolton One on Moor Lane with her father Rick and raised more than £700 for Tommy’s.

Thea’s mother, Rebecca Coles, said: “Thea loves swimming and gets really excited. It was really funny watching them all dressed up as super-heroes."

Tommy’s is a charity particularly close to her heart. In 2015, 33-year-old Rebecca lost her first daughter, Grace, when she was three-weeks-old due to respiratory failure. When she became pregnant with Thea, Rebecca was looked after by St Mary’s Rainbow Clinic in Manchester, which is funded by Tommy’s.

“My last scan with Thea revealed my sac was failing and had it not been for this check Thea may well have been stillborn so you can imagine how tough it was.

"Thea is my 7th pregnancy but first take-home baby as I had five miscarriages.

“I can’t praise Tommy’s and the clinic enough so when we heard about the splashathon we just had to take part. I really wanted to share our story and break the taboo.

“The day was amazing. It was really emotional and touching for me.”