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.

By The Newsroom

Published 9th Oct 2013, 13:00 BST

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]