Swimmers of all ages and abilities joined together on Sunday and took the plunge in a swimathon in memory of a former Monmouth pupil.

Five hundred swimers took part in the 12-hour ’Swim for Tom’ event which this year has so far raised more than £12,000 for Cancer Research Wales, adding to the £25,000 raised at last year’s event.

Olympian Tom Haffield and other entrants completed lengths at four other venues to contribute to the tally of 37,519 lengths or 938km or 937,975m or 583 miles.

"Swim for Tom is about competing with each other to reach a single goal and not against each other. Many people of all abilities pushed themselves to swim further than they had ever done before, including many beginners," said ," said Tom’s dad, Tim.

Tom, from Devauden was a pupil at Monmouth School for Boys and a member of Monnow Swimming Club who died unexpectedly from leukaemia in June 2018, aged 13.

Since his death, his family - dad, Tim; mum, Debbie; and sisters Holly and Emily - have led efforts to raise more than £100,000 for a research fund, supported by his friends, and the community.

The Tom Walker Cancer Wales PhD Studentship for Acute Myeloid Leukaemia Research was officially created last year and will be awarded in the next few weeks with the researcher starting in September.

Children at Monmouth Schools Pre-Prep and Nursery got this year’s Swim for Tom underway, chalking up almost 500 lengths on Friday afternoon.

Members of Monnow Swimming Club, parents and friends then took part in their leg, notching up 4,070 lengths, with one swimmer, Rhys Williams, completing 162 lengths in an hour.

One of the highlights was achieved by Miss Lou Scott, who had flown in especially from Italy and swam for most of the day, amassing an outstanding 404 lengths.

Tim Walker said: "A huge thank you to a magnificent team of helpers, to Haberdashers’ Monmouth Schools and their staff, to Monnow Swimming Club, to all the lifeguards, to all the swimmers, to everyone who donated money and to an army of cake bakers.

"We are also very grateful to Monmouth-based business, Mandarin Stone, for their generous hat sponsorship and to Dylan Allman, a 13-year-old pupil at Monmouth School for Boys, for creating the Swim for Tom website, which made the administration of this year’s event so much easier."

To make a donation, visit the Swim for Tom website: http://swimfortom.uk/