STUDENTS from Kelly College and their tutors exerted themselves recently by swimming the distance of the Strait of Dover twice, raising more than £6,400 for the Cots for Tots Appeal.
The Newton House students and tutors at the college were aiming to swim the 42 miles in an hour to raise money for the appeal but completed the distance in just 32 minutes. They managed to raise £6,460 with more still to collect.
The swimming continued for the allotted one hour and they swam an amazing 104.3km in the Kelly swimming pool.
The Cots for Tots Appeal is run by the regional charity Wallace and Gromit's Grand Appeal, which raises money to support the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at St Michael's Hospital in Bristol.
The students chose to support the Cots for Tots Appeal after the unit cared for Kelly teachers Gary and Debbie Collard's son Jack who was born premature.
Jack weighed just 1lb 10oz when he was born and was kept in an incubator for six months, and in the intensive care unit for more than a year.
The appeal aims to raise £1 million for the unit to provide a new suite of four intensive care cots and a home-from-home family accommodation unit.
Thanks were expressed to everyone who swam, helped, supported and sponsored the event.