Littlehampton pub crawl swimmers brave turbulent river for Chestnut Tree House

The event, known as the River Arun Pub Crawl, had athletes swimming 11km from Arundel to Littlehampton in an effort to raise money for both Chestnut Tree House children’s hospice and the RNLI.

Organiser Steve White, 42, of the Littlehampton-based Tuff Fitty Triathlon Club, was joined by a dozen more swimmers from as far as Oxfordshire, including a couple of would-be Channel swimmers.

Setting off from the Black Rabbit pub a mile upstream from Arundel, the competitors made their first stop at the town’s Queen Street Bridge where Steve, also known as the Swimming Gardener, was presented a cheque for £1,000 by Greg Blurton, of Rabbit Skips, for the Swimming Gardener Chestnut Challenge.

Steve, of Worthing Road, East Preston, said: “It’s all part of my Swimming Gardener appeal which aims to raise roughly £22,000 for charity.

“The swim was a challenging one. The water was far colder than we’d hoped- a balmy 13 degrees – and the wind chill was bitter, too.

“The section down to Ford was particularly difficult, with the river whipped up by strong winds, causing a lot of turbulence that was hard going for even the toughest swimmers.”

First across the finishing line at the Littlehampton RNLI boathouse was Glenn Parisi, from Tuff Fitty Triathlon club, who finished in 2 hours and 40 minutes.

The swim itself raised more than £520 for charity, with a further £300 donation to Chestnut Tree House after the event bringing the grand total for Steve’s appeal to more than £5,000.

Steve’s next event is an Ironman swim in the River Arun, on Saturday.

To donate to Steve’s appeal, visit www.swimming gardener.org.uk or phone him on 07973 662772.