A TIMSBURY man has become one of the first ever people to swim the English Channel before the summer months.

Rory Fitzgerald, a member of Winchester City Penguins Swimming Club, joined seven other cold acclimatised swimmers to attempt the earliest, and coldest cross-channel relay swim.

The channel swimming season normally starts in June, when water temperatures rise above 14°C. The previous earliest recorded successful swim was accomplished by Howard James in May last year, who organised the team's venture last week.

The group also raised cash for charity Alexa Trust, which supports parents in Neonatal.

The swim was to be a relay adhering to Channel Rules, swimming in togs, hat and goggles – no wetsuits are allowed. The team opted for a 20 minute rotation because of the anticipated water temperatures.

Setting off from Samphire Hoe, near Dover, just after 7am, the group of eight headed for Cap Gris-Nez.

And, with a water temperature of around 8°C the team pushed on with a target completion time of 14 hours.

Rory said: "Just after 6.20pm, with the sun beginning to set, I jumped back in for my fifth and final swim.

"The rocks at Cap Gris-Nez were barely 400m away and with a small tender to accompany me in, I landed on the rocks a few minutes later."

The swim had taken the group 11 hours and 26 minutes.

The team that took on the challenge with Rory, in swimming order, were: Matt Culverwell; Redy Redfern; Phia Steyn; Clare Hansell; Jeremy Irvine; Pip Barry; Annette Stewart.

"What made this difficult was getting in and out of the water; it made it harder to acclimatise," added Rory, who completely the voyage solo in September 2013.

"It is quite wearing because you barley get time to hear up before you have to get back in.

"I am proud to have completed it but I would now expect others to go for an earlier time."

The following morning, Rory took part in the annual Swimathon in support of the Marie Curie charitable foundation – which he had done every year since 1986.

However, having arrived back from Dover in the early hours, he hoped to negotiate a postponement. On contacting the venue, Guildford Lido, he was told that this would not be possible and had to present myself there at 8.30am!

On arrival, the reason became clear. Duncan Goodhew, Olympic gold medallist and Swimathon patron, was there to meet and congratulate him on his Swimathon record. Exhausted, Rory swam with him for a few lengths before going on to complete his 30th 5,000m Swimathon.