Campaigner completes Isle of Wight swim to highlight pollution

Oly Rush took on the challenge to raise awareness about plastic pollution in the oceans

An environmental campaigner has completed a swim round the Isle of Wight to highlight the issue of marine pollution.

Oly Rush - known as the "Vegan Powerhouse" - swam the 65-miles (105km) in 15 hours and nine minutes.

He had left from Seaview Yacht Club at 11:00 BST on Monday and arrived back in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

He said the "absolutely incredible" time was aided by favourable tides and currents.

"We didn't think we'd get round that quick. At times I was doing five-minute kilometres, that's three times my normal swimming pace.

"The hardest bit was the last couple of hours towards the finish when I was swimming against the tide - that was always going to be hard, but there was no way I was giving up with all the support that I had," he added.

The swimmer set off from Seaview Yacht Club on Monday morning

Mr Rush, 36, a plasterer from Poole, took on a 100-mile (160km) Jurassic Coast swim last summer after being involved in beach clean-ups following the influx of visitors after lockdown restrictions were eased.

"As a surfer and a swimmer I've always been really passionate about plastic pollution and the damage its doing to the environment and trying to change it.

"It's something we can all make a big difference with - get out and pick up plastic on the beaches or trying use plastic in the first place," he said.

He has currently raised more than £7,000 to support projects cleaning up coastal areas of Dorset and Cornwall - Clean Jurassic Coast, Oceans to Earth and Turn the Tide Cornwall.

Crowds turned out to see Oly Rush come ashore in the early hours of Tuesday

Mr Rush had been training by completing swims of up to 12 hours ahead of the Isle of Wight challenge.

The previous fastest time for swimming round the island wearing a wetsuit was 26 hours, set by Scott Dawson, one of Mr Rush's support team, in 2016.

Long-distance swimmer Alison Streeter set a record time of 21 hours - not wearing a wetsuit - in 1984.

Oly Rush was accompanied by a support team during the gruelling swim