A group of Watford-based teenagers is celebrating completing a relay channel swim, after making the crossing in nine hours, 40 minutes and 29 seconds, and raising over £11,300 for Rennie Grove Peace Hospice Care.

The relay swim took place on Monday, October 2, with the team starting the swim at 02.15am in complete darkness.

First in the water was Sam, aged 15. He started from the beach and made a strong start to the team’s relay attempt, despite water temperatures around 17°C.

Each of the young swimmers then took on one-hour swims in rotation, wearing only a standard swimming costume, swim hat and goggles, as per the Channel Swimming Association rules.

The team was joined on board their support boat by an official from the Channel Swimming Association who is responsible for verifying the attempt.

The youngest member of the team, 13-year-old Felipe, jumped into the water at around 11.15am for the start of the 10th hour of the swim, with land in France visible on the horizon.

Despite a number of large jellyfish in this stretch of the water, he fought hard against a turning tide to reach land on Cap Gris Nez, on the French coast at around 11.54.

The swim had been a long time coming, with the team training since April in lakes and the sea to acclimatise.

An earlier booked crossing for September 20 this year was unable to go ahead due to weather conditions and the team had been anxiously awaiting a call about a rescheduled swim.

Jeremy Irvine, vicechair of Watford Swimming Club and open water swimming coach, said: "I am so proud of everything that this team of young swimmers has achieved.

"Training in open water for the whole spring and summer has seen them build up real resilience and confidence.

"They have grown as a team during the training and are a real inspiration to the younger swimmers who are coming up through the club."

Gemma Norris, community fundraising manager at Rennie Grove Peace Hospice Care, says: "I’d like to say a huge thank you to the whole team for taking on this challenge and raising such a fantastic amount of money to support our work with local patients and families living with a life-limiting condition."

To support the team’s fundraising efforts in aid of Rennie Grove Peace Hospice Care, visit https://www.justgiving.com/page/wow-1691595899771.