Great North Swim organiser Colin Hill swims English Channel

Colin, 39, who lives with wife Nancy and children Indus, 11, Zachary, eight, Zoe three, and Lola, eight months, said: "I started at 3.50 am on Monday morning at Shakespeare Beach in Dover. You head off into the dark, cold sea and it's quite a daunting task.

"The support boat has a spotlight shining into the water, but that's all. You have no idea at all how you're doing when you're out there.

"My time was 10 hours, 30 minutes. I beat comedian David Walliams, who did the swim for Sport Relief in 2006, by four minutes.

"It's such a long journey. You're not allowed to touch the boat at any time. But they throw you a drink on a rope every hour.

"When I got to the end, I felt so emotional. It's such a relief. I felt sheer exuberance."

Colin raised money for Dreamflight, a charity that sends seriously ill children on the holiday of their dreams. He was inspired to help the cause by Catherine Foster, daughter of Great North Run founder Brendan, who Colin met through his work at the Great Swim.

It is estimated that only one in 10 Channel swimmers get to the other side, and there are more people who have climbed Everest than have swum to France.

The shortest distance across the Channel is 21 miles, but most swimmers have to cover around 30 miles to compensate for the ebb and flow of the tides.

Colin set off from Shakespeare Beach, Dover, and finally made it to Cap Gris-Nez, the closest point to Britain, where he had to clamber up the rocks to reach the final point of his epic journey.