Thousands of swimmers braved the open waters of Windermere at this year's Great North Swim in a bid to raise funds for their favourite causes.

The event, which has been running since 2008, saw its largest turnout to date with more than 10,000 people tackling the choppy waters.

A challenging 10k marathon swim was also introduced this year with contestants completing six laps of the course.

Alex Jackson, a spokesman for the event said: "It was very fun and exciting and all round a brilliant weekend for the region.

"Windermere is one of the most iconic sporting venues in the world and we're keen to develop the event every year and happy to keep it in the area."

One of the competitors, grandmother Wendy Smith from Barrow, was swimming to raise money for Cancer Research after she was diagnosed with a rare type of cancer in 2015.

Mrs Smith also had a fear of open water swimming.

She said: "The race was absolutely brilliant and my time was way better than I thought.

"I really enjoyed it - at the start I was really panicked as it was like a free for all with everyone running in but I really enjoyed the atmosphere and I feel exhilarated to be honest when I think about conquering my fear and the money I raised."

The 52-year-old of Portland Crescent swam her mile in just over 39 minutes.

Every six months, Mrs Smith must travel to a specialist unit in Blackpool where surgeons are removing a tumour from her lung.

She has now raised more than £1,000 in donations.

Giles Wade Brown also took part in the swim, completing a mile, raising money for Jo's Appeal. The Jo’s Appeal charity was set up in the autumn in memory of popular former Evening Mail journalist Jo-anne Davies, who died of cancer last August, aged 38. Mr Brown was a former colleague of Jo's.

The popularity of the GNS has steadily grown, with participant numbers increasing every year. Organisers are keen to add new events and activities.

Those families and friends wanting to relax were able to enjoy the Great Swim Lido where they could play and bob around in the open waters of Windermere which reportedly hit temperatures of around 20C.

Mr Jackson, of the Great North Swim was pleased with the number of young people taking the plunge calling them the 'next generation of open water swimmers'.

Many young people and parents are now preferring to take a dip and swim in the great outdoors, avoiding harsh chlorine laced pools.

The event, which travels across the UK, will be open for new registrations tomorrow (14th) for anyone who wants to take part next year.

Advice from the organisers suggests anyone wanting to compete should focus their mind on a specific swim length and get straight out in to open water this summer.

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Barrow grandmother competes in Great North Swim to help cancer charity