Minehead teenager swims for 12 hours to support community pool

A teenage girl with ADHD, who said being in water helps her find peace when she is feeling overwhelmed, has completed a 12-hour swim to fundraise for her town’s only public pool.

Chloe, 17, from Minehead, Somerset, swam from 05:00 until 17:00 GMT on Monday in aid of St Michael’s Swimming Pool, which is a community organisation run by volunteers.

Speaking after the swim, Chloe, who also has autism, postural tachycardia syndrome (PoTS) and Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS), said: “Every muscle in my body hurts.”

Wendy, Chloe’s mum, said she was “proud” of her daughter’s achievement, which raised more than £1,100, and added “without swimming she just couldn’t manage”.

Wendy said swimming helps her daughter to strengthen her joints so that she is less reliant on her wheelchair.

“I had her wheelchair on hand for when she finished thinking she wouldn’t even be able to walk,” she added.

Chloe has raised £1,130 for the facility which is located next to St Michael’s Church of England First School.

“The pool helps me escape from the noise,” she said

The pool is used by pupils and the surrounding community and offers a range of fitness classes.

All money raised from bookings is spent on maintenance and improvements to the facility and for children’s swimming lessons.

“It’s such an important facility to have in Minehead,” Wendy said.

Nicola Hewett, St Michael’s pool treasurer, said it is used by disabled people, children with autism and babies because it is quiet and without it they would have to travel more than 20 miles (32.1km) to use one in Trowbridge.

She described Chloe as “determined”. “What she’s doing for us is fantastic,” added Ms Hewett.

Before Chloe’s family moved to Minehead from Essex, she had been passionate about swimming but they were initially unaware there was a pool in Minehead.

“When I didn’t have access to it, I was getting to a point of [feeling] very overwhelmed,” Chloe said. “I was getting out of the house maybe once a month.”

But after finding St Michael’s she has been able to swim more regularly again.

“It’s a public pool but not many people are aware of that. It’s just a very nice feeling to go from a busy environment to just nothingness,” Chloe added.