An expat and his two sons have successfully swum the equivalent length of the English Channel to raise more than £1700 for a South Hams school.

David Enser, who lives in Germany, planned the swim to raise money to purchase up to 10 Chromebook laptops for the Berry Pomeroy Primary School in Totnes, where his youngest son attends.

Due to personal circumstances, Mr Enser lives with his eldest son Max, 13, in Munich, while his youngest, eight-year-old Henry, attends the school in South Devon.

The three completed the swim at the weekend after spreading the challenge out over a number of months in different countries.

During the summer, Mr Enser and Max swam in far flung places such as Croatia and Munich, and later did another stint with friends in Ipswich.

The challenge came to a successful conclusion over the weekend in Devon, having completed 21 miles (34 kilometres), the equivalent length of the English Channel. 

They were set to be joined by the rest of the children from the Berry Pomeroy School, who had kindly volunteered to swim the last few metres with them.

Mr Enser said: “It’s maybe a bit symbolic, I guess. It’s the English Channel that divides my eldest son and myself and Henry. Doing stuff like this makes us all feel a bit closer, given the geographical distance.”

Tough though the challenge was, Mr Enser has previous fundraising experience, having taken part in a 100k sponsored run at the start of the Covid pandemic, which he said fulfilled a desire to put something back into the community.

“It may sound crazy to some, but encouraging our kids to all get more comfortable in water is a good thing and we’re thrilled to have the support of the school,” he added, in reference to his latest achievement.

Mr Enser explained that he was also keen to show how grateful he was to the school’s teaching staff as they had been highly supportive of his situation and the fact that he lives in another country, far from his son. 

“It’s nice that we can do stuff to support Henry’s local school. Every year I get a virtual parent’s evening and the school reports emailed to me, which is extra work for the teachers, but they’ve been fantastic.”

The Berry Pomeroy School was approached for a comment.