A Bolton GP braved choppy seas, busy shipping lanes and jellyfish to swim the English Channel to raise funds for Bolton Hospice.

Dr Balaji Shanmugam, who works part-time at Pike View Medical Centre in Horwich, was part of a four-strong relay team to tackle the 30 to 40 miles involved this month.

“We swam an hour each three times in difficult conditions,” explained Balaji, “but the worst bit was the jellyfish – I was stung all over!”

The 42 year-old is no stranger to either water or fundraising for the Hospice, where he worked in training for six months.

He was so impressed with it that he took part in a marathon wild water swim three years ago and raised £1,000 towards its work.

Since then, he has taken his open water swimming to a new level, as a member of an England squad competing in the World Ice Swimming Championships in Finland.

Here, they cut a large hole in a frozen river for competitors, who are not allowed to wear wetsuits.

For the Channel swim, Balaji joined team members Justin Palfrey from Nottinghamshire, Doug Wilkinson from Preston and Jennifer Joubert-Ashworth from Wilmslow.

They completed the swim in 12 hours and 31 minutes which Balaji described as a “respectable” time, coming ashore at Les Epaulards beach in France.

They were accompanied by a support boat which included the pilot and an observer from the Channel Swimming Association to verify the event.

“I had always thought about swimming the Channel so it was a dream come true,” said Balaji.

However, because of varying conditions, the team only had short notice to get to Dover the same day “and I had been working. We were exhausted. At the end of it I just wanted to sleep.”

He did though, manage to raise £1,000 for Bolton Hospice which he says “is an amazing place.”

Balaji lives in Bolton but also works as Clinical Lead Chronic Pain, Fibromyalgia and ME and Associate Medical Director Physical Health for Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust.

As for his open water swimming, Balaji still goes twice a week to either Pennington Flash at Leigh or Salford Quays and is a big fan of the past-time.

“It’s fun,” he insisted, “but it’s also really good for your health.”