A woman from Teddington braved the freezing waters of the Thames for 28 days in a row last month to raise money for a charity close to her heart.

Susi Halley, 46, swam at Teddington Lock from February to March 9, battling sub-zero temperatures - which saw part of the Thames freeze over for the first time in 50 years - to reach her goal.

She succeeded and in doing so raised £7,000 for frontline 19, a charity that provides psychological support to health workers on the front lines of the pandemic.

Susi told Nub News : "I had no idea I'd raise as much as that. It's been amazing.

"It was a tough old challenge. Getting up before work everyday and going - or whenever I could squeeze it in.

"It was pretty cold. I hadn't figured in the ice and part of the Thames freezing over!"

Susi has been wild swimming since November and usually goes once a week, when not doing charity fundraisers.

She decided to take on the challenge after being redeployed from her usual job as a sex therapist to the front lines of the pandemic, supporting the families of victims as they visited ICU wards.

While doing this work she saw the huge mental and emotional toll the pandemic was having on frontline care workers, and was determined to do something to help.

"The staff are utterly amazing in their dedication to delivering the best care that they can under these circumstances," she wrote on her fundraising page.

"Many of the nurses, doctors, physiotherapists, speech therapists, porters and cleaners (etc.) have been wrestling with Covid for a year and are going to need time to heal and some will need psychological support to help them process the loss and repeatedly traumatic events.

"With colleagues all over the country needing access to psychological support, I want to do my bit to try and raise funds to help them access timely therapy as we know early intervention can reduce the possibility of long-term mental health problems."

In her most recent update to the page, she thanked everyone who donated and confirmed the money had gone to Frontline 19.

She said the charity is "hugely grateful for each and everyone's generosity."

A link to Susi's page can be found HERE

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