A FORMER Durham schoolgirl has swum across the Channel in under 13 hours.

Katherine Mearman, 25, completed the challenge in 12 hours and 54 minutes.

Katherine, who attended St Godric's and St Leonard's schools, in Durham, is also a former member of Durham Amateur Swimming Club. She moved to the capital to take up a post as a marketing executive for Orange.

Her interest in long-distance swimming developed when she joined the famous Otters swimming Club in Victoria, London, which has a handful of Channel swimmers.

"It was after talking to them that I decided to give it a go,'' said Katherine, who began her training in May this year.

With financial backing and a company car from Orange, Katherine travelled to Dover every weekend to acclimatise herself to the water temperature and to build up her strength.

Last Saturday, at 6.30am, with a support boat carrying a team including her father, Greg, she set off from Shakespeare Beach, Dover for the gruelling swim.

Greg said: "She was amazing and I am so tremendously proud of her.''

Her support team continued to pass her morale-boosting messages on a white board and the occasional high energy refreshment.

The best moment for Katherine was when she arrived on the beach near Calais

"The moment I felt the sand, it was the most amazing experience to realise I was in France. It was really quite surreal.''