Terrific Tess stuns with her speedy Littlehampton swim

‘SHE SWAM like she had the power of the Amazon behind her’ – these were the words a grateful mother used to describe a charitable Rustington girl.

Tess Lauretani, 14, successfully completed her 5,000m fundraising open water swim in the River Arun to help her disabled neighbour, Molly Green, 11, on Sunday (September 29).

Tess, a student at The Angmering School, completed her swim from Tortington to the RNLI lifeboat station, in Fisherman’s Quay, in a blistering time of 1hr 12min 55sec, raising more than £453 for Molly.

Molly’s mum Nichola said: “Tess was amazing. She swam like she had the power of the Amazon behind her! She was incredibly fast. When she finished I was a sopping wreck. She doesn’t know what this means to us.”

Molly suffers from a life-threatening lung condition. Her family is hoping to raise £20,000 to redesign their home, in Barwick Close, and to improve Molly’s quality of life.

Their campaign has now generated more than £7,000. To donate, email [email protected]