A WINCHESTER woman braved the chilly waters of the Lake District to complete a charity swim of more than five miles – despite pulling a muscle a mile from the finish and having ME.

Sophia Lingham, from St Cross, took on the challenge at Coniston Water, which lasted for more five hours, to raise money for Cancer Research UK following the death of a close friend’s mother through the disease.

Sophia, who is compliance officer at a software firm and a former Peter Symonds College student, said: “I think I’ll always be doing something to raise money for Cancer Research. The only was I could help was to raise money.”

The 25-year-old added: “I don’t think I could swim a longer distance. It was hard to get in the training that I needed.”

Due to her ME (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis), a condition which can cause severe fatigue, Sophia said she was only able to train twice a week, and had to time her sessions between the pool opening times at River Park Leisure Centre, in Winchester.

The five-and-a-quarter mile swim was made tougher for Sophia after she pulled a muscle in her leg about a mile from the finish.

She said: “It meant I was swimming with three limbs, which made it harder, but I was near the finish so I wasn’t going to give up.”

Fortunately Sophia had calm waters on the day of the challenge to help her out, but also faced challenges in the form of having to cope with the wash from tourists boats and a steamer.

A number of friends and her parents were alongside Sophia in kayaks and canoes during the swim to cheer her on and help her through. Sophia added: “It was the kayaks that kept me going.” So far she has raised more than £1,300 for Cancer Research.