Shrewsbury nurse's swimming challenge thrown off course by weather
Britain's crazy weather has played havoc with the schedule of one Shropshire swimmer who was hoping to complete her marathon swim of the River Severn yesterday.
Torrential rain at the start of last week created one set of problems for fundraiser Melissa Compton, an intensive care nurse who works at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital.
But then the hot and sunny weather at the end of the week meant that water levels dropped, leaving rocks on show and drying up the estuary close to the Severn Bridge beyond Gloucester.
Melissa, who hopes to be the first woman to swim the 220-mile length of the Severn, has had to contend with sickness and dehydration and was even hospitalised for treatment earlier in her swim.
She had hoped to finish her swim yesterday but was having to wait until water levels rose to complete the final 20 miles.
On Saturday, she told her Facebook followers: "Those floods really have upset things. There is no water in the estuary. Rocks are on show. I could sit down in the channel yesterday. There isn't enough water to continue. I am so fed up. I am two swims away from the end."
But the 39-year-old is determined to complete the swim and raise thousands of pounds for the charity Venus Arthritis, as a thank you for funding her stem cell treatment, which she needed for osteoarthritis.
To sponsor Melissa's swim, visit bit.ly/31QUWmU.
