Shrewsbury nurse completes 220-mile River Severn swim

Melissa Compton posted a selfie on Facebook saying, "only gone and done it"

A nurse who battled illness, low tides and horrendous weather conditions has finished her challenge of swimming the River Severn.

Melissa Compton, 39, took on the 220-mile swim to raise money for Versus Arthritis, a charity which funded stem cell treatment for her damaged knee.

The intensive care nurse began the swim in Wales in early June and finished in the Bristol Channel on Monday.

She has been supported by colleagues at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital.

Ms Compton originally set herself a target of three weeks to complete the swim

Last week, Ms Compton was forced to postpone finishing the charity swim after low tides prevented her from completing the length of the river before she had to go back to work.

She was also hospitalised with a sickness bug after "swallowing raw sewage" and had to suspend the challenge for a while when flood waters caused exhaustion and hypothermia.

After completing the swim at Severn Beach she posted a selfie on her Facebook page with the caption: "Only gone and done it".

She originally set herself a three-week target, launching the bid from the Severn's source on a mountain.

"We've had flooding, I've been poorly, and then I ended up on a really low tide," she said.

"It's taken its toll, but it's okay," she said, adding that it was "a relief" to finish. She has been able to raise more than £2,500.

Ms Compton was admitted to hospital after a sickness bug near Gloucester

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