George Andrews raced against George, a 90-year-old giant tortoise, to see who could finish their cube first.

Mr Andrews completed his puzzle in just 66 seconds, while George took just under five minutes to finish an edible Rubik’s Cube.

The heartwarming race took place during a visit to Cotswold Wildlife Park, raising funds for Midlands Air Ambulance in support of the charity that helped save the life of Mr Andrews’ grandfather.

Megan Howard, head of reptiles at Cotswold Wildlife Park, said: “After hearing about George and Alfie’s Give Back Challenge, we decided to organise a special activity for them.

“Knowing what a Rubik’s Cube fan George is, we created an ‘Eat vs Complete’ challenge between 10-year-old George and our 90-year-old Giant Tortoise, also named George.

“We made an edible Rubik’s Cube using foods from the Giant Tortoise’s natural diet, including carrot and butternut squash.

“The challenge would see who finished first – Giant Tortoise George or young George.”

Mr Andrews said: “I can’t believe they actually made a Rubik’s Cube out of vegetables for Giant Tortoise George — that was so cool!

“Today was really fun and I loved taking part in the challenge.”

His brother Alfie, who joined him at the park, explained the motivation behind their fundraising efforts.

He said: “We’re doing this because Midlands Air Ambulance helped save our grandad’s life.

“George and I wanted to help raise money back for them because they help lots of people really quickly when they’re hurt or poorly.

“We also want to make fundraising fun so more people want to join in and help too.”

Their mother Tara said: “As parents, we are incredibly proud of both George and Alfie.

“Seeing the kindness, confidence and determination they put into helping others means the world to us.

“Today was such a special experience and the team at Cotswold Wildlife Park went above and beyond to make it unforgettable for the boys.”

The Rubik’s Cube challenge drew a supportive crowd, including residents from The Lakes Care Centre in Cirencester.

Among them were 93-year-old Evelyn Smith and 101-year-old Pat Baxter, who later got to meet their favourite animal at the park.

Midlands Air Ambulance Charity receives no government funding and responds to up to 4,500 emergency calls each year.

Covering several counties, including Gloucestershire and Herefordshire, the service relies entirely on public donations to meet its £20 million annual running costs.

A study of more than 8,000 people born since 1946 found the issues were most stark when it came to obesity and mental health.

For several outcomes – particularly obesity, mental ill health and diabetes -“prevalence of poor health was higher in more recent generations”.

The team said: “Long-term declines in mortality and fertility mean that by 2050, one quarter of the British population will be aged 65 and over, with considerable implications for future demand for health and social care and also for the economy.

“Ensuring that more recently born cohorts both live longer and do so in good health is important for facing the challenges of population ageing.”

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The team examined changes in physical and mental health across the generations born between 1946 and 2000–02.

A statement from the team said: “While several mechanisms could explain the generational health drift, evidence from the British birth cohorts suggests that more recent cohorts are experiencing an earlier onset of poor health for several outcomes, particularly obesity and mental ill health.

“If more recent generations are ‘drifting’ backwards in health, it implies that society is not reaching the biological limits of health improvement but rather seeing the consequences of preventable social and environmental exposures that have shaped population health over time and across generations.

“The generational health drift has serious implications for policy, planning and the funding allocations needed to be able to support a greater number of people living with chronic health conditions.”