Backstroke Boys swim the Channel without wetsuits

Five men from Grimsby have conquered the English Channel without wetsuits in a relay swim.

The Backstroke Boys, who are part of the Grimsby & Cleethorpes Water Rats open water swimming group, set off at 01:05 BST on Friday and finished the challenge just over 12 hours later.

One of them, Malc Pearce, from Cleethorpes, took part only weeks after completing the 21-mile crossing at the age of 64.

Team member Richard Scott said they came up with the "crazy idea" to swim the channel two years ago, and had raised money for local homeless charity Harbour Place.

The Water Rats took to social media to announce that the Backstroke Boys "had landed".

The group said: "It's been fantastic to watch your journey back to the day you all first joined the Grimsby & Cleethorpes Water Rats.

"Watching you all get acclimatised to cold water swimming because you all decided to swim the channel without a wetsuit.

"You've all been amazing, and congratulations on completing your journey."

Speaking on BBC Radio Humberside on Monday, Scott said they were all ex-swimmers who used to be in the water a lot when they were younger.

He said it took them two years to plan and get themselves ready for the swim.

"I'd normally just be training in a pool but we have to focus on open water swimming," he said.

"It was about 8C in February and it isn't very pleasant. We gradually got more and more used to the cold."

Despite being called Backstroke Boys, Scott said they would complete the swim via front crawl, otherwise known as freestyle.

The intrepid group were equipped with lights and kept close to their boat during their adventure.

Their goal was to raise £6,000 for Harbour Place but they have already reached more than £7,000.

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