79-year-old Rochdale man in Great Manchester swim

A 79-year-old man from Rochdale will join more than 3,000 people diving into Salford Quays today for the Great Manchester swim.

Len Hey, whose wife has dementia, is swimming for the Alzheimer's Society.

Mr Hey met his wife, who needs 24-hour care, when they were aged 12 and both members of a swimming team.

"I have only just taken up swimming again. I do a mile in the morning at Rochdale, which is 64 lengths of a 25m pool, but I am not as fast as I used to be," he said.

The Great Manchester swim is the third in a series of five national open water swimming events where entrants raise money for charity.

Owing to the hot weather, the organisers have decided to make wetsuits optional after taking advice from medical and water safety experts.