A violin teacher at Monmouth School for Girls took the plunge to raise more than £800 for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI).

Mr Christopher Horner is vastly experienced at swimming in the sea and successfully completed his fifth Castle 2 Castle Open Water Swim.

Mr Horner’s father was in the Navy and he donned a wet suit for the one-mile swim, near Falmouth, across the Carrick Roads between Pendennis and St Mawes castles.

“The weather was good for the swim but not so good shortly afterwards so perhaps the 450 of us who took part had a smile from above,” said Mr Horner.

A keen member of the Cardiff Masters Swimming Club, Mr Horner raised £848 for the work of the RNLI.

Mr Horner had previously completed the popular Castle 2 Castle challenge in 2010, 2012, 2014 and 2016.

He said: “Events like the Castle 2 Castle Swim help to ensure the continuation of the very demanding work from the RNLI which carries more than its share of risks for its volunteer work-force.”