A NORTH Berwick woman who swam five miles in a 10ft-long paddling pool in her front garden in aid of Edinburgh Zoo has almost tripled her initial fundraising target.

Jane McMenemy, 40, completed the feat on May 22 outside her Lady Jane Gardens home.

Due to the obvious space constraints, she was attached to a belt to keep her stationary but was still able to swim for two-and-a-half hours at a speed which would have saw her complete five miles had she been in a standard pool or at sea.

The mum of two said: “The swim itself was fine, I enjoyed it. It was quite windy and quite chilly on the day.

“It was a bit different doing it. The first two miles were the hardest.

“The third mile was really good and the fourth and fifth miles were windy but really nice.

“My right shoulder is a little sore and I couldn’t reach out too far or I’d end up touching the edge of the pool!

“The bottom of my back is also sore but I think that was the belt. I’m glad I didn’t do it a day later – I couldn’t believe how windy it was.”

She added that she recovered quickly and was out for a walk two days later.

Although Jane prefers swimming front crawl, she did occasionally change her stroke by twisting the belt around so she could swim backstroke.

She was passed water, pieces of banana and Haribos sweets by her children, eight-year-old Hamish and six-year-old Magnus, and husband Scott.

Jane knew from previous swims she could complete one mile every half an hour.

The swim was livestreamed on Facebook by Scott, which Jane admits probably helped with donations.

She said: “I think that people were watching the livestream, went away to do some housework or whatever and then came back and said, ‘she’s still doing it’.”

Swimming is an important part of Jane’s family as her mum, Muriel Campbell, co-founded North Berwick Swimming Club, something Jane was part of when she was younger.

Muriel, 70, swam Loch Lomond with three friends last August. Jane praised the support from the community and her local neighbours, who cheered her on.

She said: “I thought that, with the way things are just now, I didn’t want to set a target of more than £500 as it’s a difficult time for everyone.

“But the response from people was amazing; my neighbours were coming up to the gate, socially distanced of course, and shouting me on.

“They handed money in as well, it was really nice. I have some lovely neighbours.”

So far, more than £1,300 has been raised.

Jane added: “I’m really pleased with the result. I told the zoo and they are delighted with it and looking forward to seeing us when we can come back.”

The pool, 75cm deep, a present for Jane’s 40th birthday, has been emptied, cleaned and refilled since the challenge was completed.

Plans to swim in the Lake District’s Coniston Water with her brother and cousin this summer might have to be delayed.

Donations can be made via justgiving.com/fundraising/edinburghzoodonations