Record breaking - Lewis Pugh tells all after 330 mile swim from Cornwall to Dover

  • Meridian

Lewis Pugh has become the first person to successfully swim the length of the English Channel in just speedos, goggles and a hat.

The endurance swimmer, who grew up in Gosport, swam 330 miles from Land's End in Cornwall to Dover in 49 days.

Mr Pugh, UN Patron of the Oceans, set off from Cornwall on July 12th and pushed himself to cover around six to 12 miles per day.

Despite being told he had tendonitis and advised to rest by his physiotherapist, just 10 days before the end, he finally reached the finish line.

  • Watch Sarah Saunders' report below

The taxing challenge was overseen by the Channel Swimming Association and The Long Swim is part of Mr Pugh’s mission to highlight inadequate protection of UK waters.

Before setting off, he warned of a “shocking” figure that just seven square kilometres (2.7 square miles) out of 750,000 square kilometres of coastal waters are fully protected.

He is calling on the government to urgently strengthen marine protected areas around the UK and its Overseas Territories.

  • Watch ITV News Meridian's full interview with Lewis Pugh below