Cramps and currents couldn’t stop East Preston’s Steve

The East Preston man had set himself the task of swimming as far as he could in ten hours, from Worthing Pier, to Arundel – and beyond, if he could – as part of his Splash for Cash event, on Saturday (September 14).

Steve managed an incredible 19 miles – more than 30,000m – and has so far generated almost £5,000 from his latest challenge which was in aid of Chestnut Tree House children’s hospice, in Poling, and lifeboat charity the RNLI.

He said: “I am exhausted and, needless to say, my shoulders and arms are very tender, but I am elated at completing the task. Some two hours into the swim I began to experience the excruciating cramps which tend to come in the right leg after last year’s major blood clot in the top of the thigh, I had to swim back to my depth to stand briefly to eradicate it.”

Beating cramp, Steve made it to the River Arun, where he had to fight against the current.

“After what seemed a lifetime and a lot of encouragement from Jim Mahoney in the kayak, I made it to the RNLI station, having inched forward for what seemed like an eternity,” he added. Steve eventually reached the centre of Arundel before his time ran out.

As part of the fundraiser, Shoreham Vehicle Auctions and Jeremy Silverthorne Fine Jeweller, donated £1,000 as prize money for the person who could guess how far Steve swam. The winner was Dave Priest, who donated half his winnings to Steve’s cause.