A 91 year old woman from Devizes has swum the length of the channel in her local pool to raise money for charity.

Pamela Annis, who turned 91 last month, has swum over 22 miles and raised almost £1200 for Aspire, a charity which supports people with spinal cord injuries.

Mrs Annis had 12 weeks to complete her challenge at Devizes Leisure Centre but has already surpassed her target of swimming the length of the channel with time to spare, despite having two weeks off with a chest infection.

She hopes her success will inspire other elderly people to remain active in later life.

She said: “I just want to encourage people to have an active old age.

“I normally swim three times a week and do a kilometre at a time, which is 40 lengths of the pool.

“It has helped quite a lot of people… I tell everybody how old I am because I want to encourage them, that’s my main objective”.

As well as setting an example to people of all ages, Mrs Annis is also pleased that she has been able to raise money for an important cause.

Aspire supports those with spinal injuries when they leave hospital and helps them to live their lives independently.

“I thought it was a good charity raising money for a great cause” she said. “My husband and eldest son were often at Salisbury District Hospital, which has the Regional Spinal Injury Centre, and I often met the families of patients who had been inpatients for a year or so”.

Pamela’s daughter, Sarah Annis, added: “It wasn’t the inspiration for my mother doing the challenge, but both my brother and my father have had spinal surgery.

“Obviously had those gone wrong we would be looking to charities like Aspire to help us with the aid we’d need in the house”.

Katy Boyd, who manages the Aspire Channel Swim said: “Pamela is one of many amazing people taking part in the challenge.

“The Aspire Channel Swim runs every year from September to December.

“In the past 22 years it has raised £7 million for Aspire. Anyone can take part in the challenge, regardless of ability.

“Next year I would love to see younger people in swim schools taking part who can achieve the distance as an individual or as a team”.

Despite achieving her goal, Pamela is still swimming every other day and people can donate to her cause here until Monday, December 5.