A DRIVING instructor from Launceston has recently completed an eight-hour charity swim, in aid of Children in Need.

Jason Jeffery recently completed an eight-hour swim for the children’s charity at the Phoenix Leisure Centre, Launceston.

On Sunday, November 13, Jason slapped on his swimming cap, goggles and trunks, and took to the water in Launceston’s swimming pool, beginning his eight-hour swim for charity.

Jason is a member of the local triathlon team, and is currently training for an endurance event known as ‘Iron Man’ next year. He told the Post that he is already used to competing in long enduring events, therefore did not need to train specifically for the swim, as he is already training for next year’s event.

Jason said: “The swim was eight hours long, and I haven’t ever swam for that period of time before. Normally, the most amount of time I would swim for is about two hours.”

He added that the support from the leisure centre’s staff was ‘fantastic’. He continued: “Tom, the leisure centre’s manager, wrote off a lane for me for the day. The staff put a bucket at the end of my lane, for people to come along to drop any change in, and there was also a bucket at reception for people to drop a donation in as they came in or left the leisure centre.

“With a Facebook push and help from the staff, we had a lot of people come in and say ‘hello’ on the day. We also had some guest swimmers, who came along to join me in the pool for half an hour or an hour.”

Jason, along with many other driving instructors in Launceston, choose to support Children in Need each year, usually through completing an annual driving relay. However, this year, Jason wanted to do something different.

He said: “I wanted to set myself a physical challenge this year. At first, I thought about running, but then a lot of people have done that for charity. Then I just thought that since I am a part of the triathlon team, I would take part in a charity swim.

“Initially, I was going to complete the swim through the night, but we couldn’t because there was no lifeguard cover available, so I ended up doing it in the day on the Sunday.”

Jason endured eight hours of continuous swimming, which saw him swim 520 lengths in total — equalling to 13,000 metres and 8.6 miles. On the day alone, he collected just over £100, and has now made approximately £360 through the generosity of his supporters.

Jason added: “Thank you to everybody who donated and came along on the day. The generosity of people who came along to watch me swim and show their support was fantastic.

“Thank you to everyone, especially the staff at the pool. They reminded people that the bucket was there, and explained exactly what I was doing. It was great to see such a massive amount of support.”

Jason’s Just Giving page is still open for donations. To donate, visit www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Launcestonswim.