Former Eastbourne police officer swims more than 50km for hospice following the death of her mother

Dawn Barratt swam the equivalent of twice the English Channel between March 1-10 in the Sovereign Centre swimming pool to raise funds for St Wilfrid’s Hospice.

Miss Barratt said she wanted to raise money as she received free counselling from the East Sussex-based hospice following her mother’s death in January 2022 – despite Heather Barratt never receiving treatment there.

She added: “With every length I complete I will be raising vital funds to provide hospice care to people who need it.”

Miss Barratt explained that despite hitting her original target of 64km, she will continue swimming for the rest of the month to see what distance she can cover while raising additional funds for the hospice.

She said: “Unless you are involved in that hospice you don’t realise what goes on each day and what they do.