Riley returns favour with epic crossing

Seven years ago, when 10-year-old Riley Cork's father died, the youngster turned to the services of the Norfolk charity Nelson's journey for help. Fast forward to last month and the Wymondham College student completed a swim of the English Channel to raise money for the charity.

The 17-year-old, from Beetley, and his mother Ria, decided to challenge themselves to swim the 21 miles from Dover to Calais-known as the Everest of swimming-with a target to raise £10,000 for the charity which helps children who have lost a loved one.

'It was special to do something for Nelson's journey,' said the A Level student, who hopes to study criminology at University next year.

'They're a small charity and they helped both me and my mum, and because we had so much personal history with them, it felt right.'

The Corks and a family friend, Clare Wookey, began their swim at 5.07am and finished 18 hours later, with each swimmer taking a turn at swimming for one hour in the 13C water-in the busiest shipping lane in the world.

Mr Cork said: 'It was horrible and probably the worst 20 hours of my life. It wasn't cold, but we got hit by tides. It still feels surreal at the moment; it's a really weird feeling to know I've done it. I'm so proud though.

'The shipping lane was so close, I remember I was swimming and everyone on the support boat were looking over me and when I turned to look there was a big ferry about 100 meters from me and it was terrifying. The waves it created were massive.'

So far £6,195 has been raised and the teenager and his mum are planning another fundraising event in August 2015.

'We're going to do Sharkfest 2015, which is swimming the one and a half miles from Alcatraz across San Francisco Bay to the City. We're going to incorporate that into a holiday.'

To sponsor Riley and Ria Cork, visit justgiving.com/corkchannelswim

Are you taking part in a fundraising challenge? Email rebecca.murphy@archant.co.uk or call the Mercury on 01379 651153.