Teenager completes channel swim

Gary hopes to raise £50,000 for Children's Hospice South West

A 16-year-old boy is celebrating after swimming the Bristol Channel.

Gary Carpenter, from Clevedon, North Somerset, is believed to be the youngest person to make the 18-mile crossing between Clevedon and Penarth.

He set off from south Wales on Sunday afternoon and arrived in Clevedon after five hours 35 minutes.

The teenager is hoping to raise £50,000 from the swim to go to the Children's Hospice South West in Wraxall, near Bristol.

The attempt was expected to take place on bank holiday Monday but Sunday's fine weather prompted him to attempt the record early.

The distance he had to cover was dependent on where the current took him with 15 miles being the shortest route.