A BRAVE Portland man will swim 140 miles to raise cash for the Royal National College for the Blind.

Colin Stone, 49, from Weston, is going to attempt to swim 140 miles down the River Wye in May and is hoping to raise thousands of pounds to help the college attended by his daughter Shani, 21.

The fathe-of-two said that both his daughters had visual impairments and Shani was blind.

She attends the Royal National College for the Blind in Hereford and Mr Stone said the experience had turned her life around.

He said: “She’s been educated in Dorset main stream and although she was successful academically, she found it hard with the limited resources they have in Dorset for independent living. The college has totally turned that round – she’s so much more independent.”

Mr Stone said Shani felt comfortable there from the first day she visited and so wanted to do a sponsored event to say thank you.

Friends suggested a bicycle challenge but Mr Stone said he didn’t enjoy cycling for long periods of time but that he was always loved swimming and snorkelling off Portland and loved to be in the water. Together with another swimmer Mr Stone plans to swim the epic route down the River Wye in just seven days. He said: “It’s a bit of an adventure – I’m looking forward to it. I like adrenaline and I like jumping off things.”

He has been stepping up his training and was hoping to do some sea swimming this year before heading to Hereford, but the bad weather and cold stopped him training in the sea much before April. To support Mr Stone visit website mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/wye140swim. To follow his adventure visit his blog at wye140swim.blogspot.com.