Battling jellyfish, choppy waters and even the pitch black, a Wimbledon nanny had a birthday she will never forget.

Emily Hamilton decided to swim the English Channel in August and managed to raise almost £1,700 for charity in the process.

The water-loving nanny has always been a strong swimmer and wanted to mark her 30th year by doing something a little out of the ordinary.

“I was really nervous beforehand," she said.

"But I had great support and once the swim started you kind of got into a rhythm.

"We each swam for a full hour then got onto the boat and took on energy.

“There were lots of jellyfish and it seemed to take a long time for the white cliffs of Dover to disappear, but once they did we knew we were close for France."

As you could imagine, it was tough going out on the water in a swim that took 14 hours to complete in relay with her two friends, Robbie and Ryan.

But she took each stroke as it came.

“Sea swimming in the dark was also quite a weird experience, and the water was cold and choppy," Emily said.

"However, we were told the water was warmer than usual because of the summer we’ve just had.

“It was tough physically and mentally but I am so pleased to have achieved this."

Money raised from the swim will go towards twins and multiple births association, Tamba, which supports families with twins, triplets or more that are in severe need or crisis.