A group of friends braved freezing temperatures as they kayaked across the English Channel for a dementia charity.

Jamie Levy, from Shenley, his brother Jonny Levy, from Hampstead Garden Suburb, and five others, spent eight hours paddling 29 miles through choppy waters to raise money for Alzheimer’s Research UK.

The group set off from Dungeness on the Kent Coast at 7.45am and reached Boulogne, in France, at 4pm.

The group, aged between 26 and 34, raised £10,000 for the UK’s leading dementia research charity.

As the channel is one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes they relied on safety boats equipped with radar tracking systems, and the trip was close to being called off due to poor weather conditions. 

Jamie, 34, said: “It was painful, fairly monotonous and a few scary-sized tankers passed close by, but we’re so pleased we did it.

“Thankfully they had some faith in our ability and we were able to get going. It was like being in a big, watery room as there was poor visibility most of the way. There were a lot more waves than we thought there would be and we found ourselves going sideways a lot of the time due to the currents”

To sponsor the group, visit www.justgiving.com/kayak-the-channel