Woman aims for fastest Bristol Channel swim

Mairi Benton completed the crossing in five hours, 22 minutes

A woman who swam the Bristol Channel between Penarth and Clevedon is hoping to be named the fastest Briton to do so.

Mairi Benton, from Bristol, is waiting for ratification after completing the feat in five hours, 22 minutes, earlier in July.

"I had no intention of going fast, just trying to get from A to B, but halfway through it the crew told me 'you need pick up your pace because you could you could be quite fast and get a record'," she said.

The Bristol Channel has the second highest tidal range in the world, with 15.24m (50ft) variance between high and low tide, complicated with extremely strong currents.

Once her achievement is ratified by the Bristol Channel Swimming Association, Ms Benton will receive a badge reading "bridges are for wimps".

She said she took up swimming to help deal with the stress of her work as an art therapist for people with learning disabilities.

"It completely empties your mind. You just have a great feeling afterwards and you do not regret coming for a swim, ever.

"I think of it like a filing cabinet, going through everything in my mind and putting everything away neatly and then it's a bit like meditation," she said.

Ms Benton celebrates with a bottle of prosecco after her mammoth swim

She is now planning to swim across Loch Ness in a few years' time.

Richard Smith, her coach at Vobster Quay in Radstock, Somerset, said Ms Benton's "mental strength" was her biggest asset.

"When you're taking on a significant long-distance swimming challenge, it's very different to, for example, the Olympic swimming in the pool or even open water," he said.

"It was that mental strength that really assured me that she could take on a challenge like this," Mr Smith added.