Woman in mermaid's tail to swim across Bristol Channel

Lindsey Cole said she used to get a lot of "environmental anxiety"

A woman wearing a mermaid's tail will swim across the Bristol Channel to raise awareness of pollution.

Lindsey Cole, from Bristol, will swim the 12 miles from Penarth, on the outskirts of Cardiff, to Clevedon on Wednesday morning.

She said she used to get a lot of "environmental anxiety", but doing this swim makes her feel like she is "doing something".

Ms Cole will release a children's book about her adventures in September.

"A few years ago I did some free diving in the river and cut my hand on some plastic," Ms Cole said.

"I could see more plastic than fish, so I felt like I needed to do something."

In 2018, Ms Cole swam 200 miles along the River Thames, to raise awareness of single-use plastic

She said doing the mermaid swims was a "good way to reach kids".

She also tours schools and festivals to talk to children about water pollution.

Ms Cole's first swim wearing the mermaid's tail was from San Francisco to the island of Alcatraz.

In 2018, she swam 200 miles along the River Thames in her tail, to raise awareness of single-use plastic.

Ms Cole's book The Mermaid, the Otter and the Big Poo - written about her 2018 swim - will be published in September.