by Keyan Milanian

Almost 12 hours in cold water avoiding tankers in the world’s busiest shipping lane might not sound like a lot of fun.
But for Medway Maritime Hospital physiotherapist Liz Rycroft, it was all just for laughs.
She swam the English Channel after just four months of training just to see if she could.
The senior physio rehabilitates long-term patients who have been in hospital and have respiratory problems.
She said: “I’ve been a keen swimmer most of my life and it has long been my ambition to try and swim the Channel.
“I started training for a triathlon about three years ago, and it started me thinking – why not do it now?
Liz, who lives in Maidstone, set off on July 31 and eventually arrived on French shores 11 hours and 44 minutes later.
The quickest time the Channel has been swum in is just over seven hours, the slowest is almost 27 hours.