A FORMER Stourbridge woman is hoping her old friends back home will chip in to sponsor her as she dives in for a gruelling swim.
Claire Preston, aged 37, who grew up in Whittington Road, Norton, where her parents, Michael and Heather, still live, is set to swim the five and a half mile length of Coniston Water in the Lake District on Saturday (September 5).
The chartered accountant, who now lives with her husband, Stephen, in a village near Betws-y-coed in North Wales, aims to raise more than £1,000 for Cancer Research UK.
Mrs Preston swam for Brierley Hill and Dudley Metro swimming clubs as a teenager and took up the sport again two years ago.
She has now been bitten by the outdoor swimming bug, training in the chilly lakes near her Welsh home, and has taken part in the Great North and the Cotswolds big swims. Saturday's effort will be her longest outdoor swim so far.
"A friend who trained as an accountant with me died from cancer, aged 32, so I have chosen Cancer Research UK as my charity," said Mrs Preston.
"I hope anyone who remembers me in Stourbridge will sponsor me." Donations can be made to Mrs Preston's appeal at chttps://www.justgiving.com/erialc/
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