Worcestershire man completes 24 hour 48km charity swim

Lee Thomas said he finished his challenge on Friday night

A man has completed a challenge of swimming 48km (29.8 miles) in 24 hours for charity.

Lee Thomas from Kempsey, Worcestershire started at 18:00 BST on Thursday at Perdiswell Leisure Centre and finished on Friday evening.

He said Dementia UK helped his family when he lost two grandparents in 2014 and 2018 and is currently helping another relative.

So far he has received £2,500 in donations, with more still coming in.

The "swimathon" was a way of increasing the charity's profile and raising awareness of "the fantastic work they do", he said.

Mr Thomas said he is used to pushing his body to its limit, as he used to swim nationally as a teenager and and more recently has completed triathlons.

Mr Thomas has completed triathlons before

The 34-year-old aimed to complete 2km every hour, on the hour, and moisturised between every 2km to stave off "wrinkly skin" from the water.

Members of the public, friends and family joined him in the pool during the challenge.

"I'm amazed at the level of support and people speaking about their own stories," he added.