A COMPETITIVE triathlete and distance swimmer set a new record by swimming the lengths of 13 of the national park's lakes in just three days.

In the process, 20-year-old George Taplin raised around £2,000 for the charity Just a Drop, which works to provide communities around the world with sustainable access to clean water.

Mr Taplin, a University of Sheffield graduate from Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, swam a total of 71km across all the publicly-accessible lakes in the Lake District.

“During the final few kilometres I managed to block out the muscle fatigue and tendon stress and just enjoyed the evening sunset swim,” he said. “It was an overwhelming feeling to see the end of the final lake come into view."