A BRAVE-hearted Trowbridge man took to the seas to raise money for charity by swimming the English Channel with a group of friends.

Gary Fortune, of Green Lane, completed the mammoth swim last week with friends Alex Hayden, who grew up in Trowbridge, along with Simon Gray, Ben Gray and Claire Gladdy.

Having completed marathons in the past, the 45-year-old said he was looking for a new challenge but didn’t expect how emotional the swim would be.

"I’ve always wanted to do something different and I initially looked at doing a solo swim but I realised that my swimming wasn't that good to do it alone. A friend of mine got in touch to ask if I fancied doing a relay because it was something achievable and while it would be difficult it wouldn't be impossible.

"Overall the swim was more of a mental challenge than a physical one because we prepared ourselves well with a year of training and it was the emotional impact that we couldn't prepare for. There were other things like swimming in the dark that were quite daunting and then you feel like you're going around in circles."

The group took it in turns to swim for an hour across the 32km distance which took them 15 hours and 14 minutes to complete under the watchful eye of an adjudicator who made sure they followed correct protocol in terms of changeovers otherwise they faced disqualification.

Collectively the team raised over £8,000 which will be split between several charities including Mr Fortune’s choices of Scope and the RNLI.

"We didn't have a target of a time, we just wanted to finish it and it was in my mind that if we did it in 15 hours that would be great so to do it in 15 hours 14 minutes was fantastic,” he added.

"Not only was there the challenge of the swim but then everyone was sleep deprived and sea sickness kicks in so there was a lot of things to contend with but I think it was such a journey for us all and one to remember.”

To donate, visit www.facebook.com/channelhoppers2016 for individual fundraising pages.