Two local tradesmen have given their thanks to all who donated to a worthy cause after they took on one of the toughest and greatest swim challenges on the globe for charity.

Electrician Peter Brace and plumber Peter Kidney completed the annual ‘Victory Day’ Hellespont swimming race in Canakkale, Turkey, on August 30, raising money for the ‘Teenage Cancer Trust’ charity along the way.

The Hellespont and Dardanelles crossing is a significant open water swim of 4.5 km between Europe and Asia, and the race which has been described as the ‘World’s Oldest Swim’ required the pair to battle the conditions to race from one continent to another, in a time limit of 120 minutes.

“We enjoyed the experience and it was a really well organised event, with the local Rotary Club involved,” said Peter Brace.

“The conditions certainly were choppy as we had been warned with really strong currents to contend with.

The pair smashed their target of raising £1,000 for the ‘Teenage Cancer Trust’ with £1,585 raised from kind donations so far.

“We’d like to thank all that donated and sponsored us fro this fantastic cause, it really is appreciated,” he added.

“We would also like to thank all our friends and family for their support, Julian Grey for setting up the fundraising web page, and also Tina Brace for help with the transport logistics and flights.”