WEYPORT Masters swimmer Linda Ashmore is awaiting confirmation on whether she has become the oldest woman to swim the English Channel.

The former Wey Valley School and Sports College maths teacher, who is 60 and 10 months, completed the arduous challenge from Dover to Calais at the weekend in a time of 15 hours 11 minutes after a year and a half of hard training.

The Channel Swimming and Piloting Federation has revealed that Ashmore is a few days older than the previous oldest woman to do the swim, Australian Sue Oldham, who completed the feat last year in a time of 16 hours three minutes - but the record has yet to be officially confirmed.

Ashmore said: "If it is the case then that would be fantastic because it is what I set out to do all along.

"It has been a dream of mine since I was about ten-years-old and I suddenly realised that I was running out of time and I wanted to do it to celebrate my 60th year.

"I initially thought that the oldest woman to have done it was 61 but I have been told she was 60 and nine months and I am 60 and ten months."

The crossing marked the end of 18 months of training, which included six to eight miles of cycling a week and gym work, as well as swimming in the sea to acclimatise to the conditions.

Ashmore added: "It was a beautiful day and there were no clouds in the sky.

"The sea was almost flat and I thought it was going to be the perfect crossing but in the French water we picked up the currents and it got very difficult.

"The first 11-12 hours were great and I thoroughly enjoyed it but the last bit was quite horrendous. I could see France but the water got choppy and it got quite tough.

"I just had to swim stroke by stroke and I was always pretty determined. As long as my arms were still moving and working, I was always going to keep going."

Ashmore started the swim, which is 22 miles in total and equal to 700 lengths of a standard Olympic-sized swimming pool, at 5.42am and finished at just before 9pm.

Her husband Nic had helped her train by canoeing as she swam and was on the boat which monitored her progress across the Channel. But it was her children Nikki, Graeme, and Jonathan that helped rekindled her interest in the sport.

Ashmore said "I am quite active and I had always enjoyed swimming. I got involved with the Weyport Masters Swimming Club when my children were swimming.

"Everyone at the club has been fantastic and so supportive, particularly Kate Mason and Julie Aston who are the two coaches there."

The oldest man to have completed the crossing is George Burnstad, who did it at the age of 70 in 15 hours, 59 minutes in 2004.