A 27-year-old mathematician has swam the length of the English Channel and raised £10,300 for a children’s charity.

Maddy Ellis, from Little Paxton is a volunteer and fundraiser for the children’s charity, Over The Wall.

She has raised the money for the charity’s camps, by swimming 21 miles at Mountbatten Swimming pool in Portsmouth, over the space of 15 hours.

Maddy said: “Getting used to the heat and chlorine was most difficult.

“The pool was 29 degrees and I had been taking ice baths and swimming in cold open waters in preparation, so that was something I wasn’t ready for, and had to adjust to.

The Hunts Post: Maddy Ellis at the end of her swimMaddy Ellis at the end of her swim (Image: Spencer Butt)

Every time I popped my head up, throughout the whole 15 hours, my supporters were there and that really helped me to keep going.

“I also kept my mind busy by thinking about work, people and Over The Wall- and by playing maths games in my mind- to break up the monotony of the swim!

“It felt great to complete it and to have raised well “over my target £10k for the charity.”

Other volunteers and staff members from Over The Wall were present for the whole 15 hours as were Maddy’s family members, many of which occasionally swam beside her in support.

From 7am to 10pm on Sunday, Maddy swam a total of around 1,200 lengths of the pool in one long session, eating as she swam and getting out of the pool only to use the lavatory.

Kevin Mathieson, the CEO of the charity said: “We feel very lucky and proud to have Maddy on board as a volunteer and fundraiser for our charity.

“These funds raised through her strength, determination and dedication, will certainly help our charity to provide more opportunities for children with serious illness -and for that we are very grateful.”

Maddy became a volunteer for Over The Wall several years ago, where she attended the charity’s camps that are designed to help children with serious illness to reach beyond the boundaries of their health challenge.

Maddy said “People had been so kind and so generous, so I wanted to do something as similar to the channel crossing as possible.”

If you would like to take on a challenge for Over The Wall, email: Danniella Manton at giving@otw.org.uk