A GROUP of club swimmers has braved the cold and wind to swim the English Channel.
The seven-strong group, all members of Erith and District Swimming Club did the 21-mile swim in relays to raise cash for Greenwich and Bexley Cottage Hospice.
Mark Russell, 37, from Bexley was joined by John Burdett from Dartford, David Kane from Bexleyheath, Jenny Vick from Erith, Bexleyheath father and daughter Tony and Joanne Ball and reserve Richard Wilding from Erith.
They swam in one-hour shifts, dodging the ferries and the jellyfish, and completed the relay in 11hours and four minutes.
Mr Russell said: “We set off on what started out to be a bright, sunny day but it soon turned overcast.
“A couple of us had a touch of sea sickness.”
He added: “The water was 16 degrees and the shipping lanes were very choppy.”
They hope to have raised more than £3,000, half of which will be given to the hospice.
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