A DOZEN youngsters from the New Forest swam across the Solent in memory of a school friend.

The 12 youngsters from Lymington got together to raise money for the Piam Brown Paediatric Oncology and Haematology ward at Southampton General Hospital in honour of Lizzie Murt, who died of cancer in October 2015 aged 13.

The swimmers trained under the guidance of Lymington endurance athlete Valeria Sesto.

The group swam 2.3 nautical miles, from Newtown, Isle of Wight to the beach near Tanners Lane, Lymington, and have raised almost £6,000.

Those involved were Dougie Benson, Sonny Chamberlain-Hyde, Oscar Cain, Olivia Kerr, Millie Martin, Issy Moyles, Ava Robinson, Ted Ward, Hattie Wheeler, Maya Williams, Georgia Squibb, and Valeria’s daughter Delfi Sesto Cosby.

All are pupils at Priestland’s school in Pennington, except for Hattie who is a pupil at King Edward VI School in Southampton.

The youngsters trained five or six days a week in the open sea as well as an indoor pool and the Lymington sea water baths.

Speaking after the swim Delfi said: “It was so much fun, people cheered us from boats along the way. It was sunny and we were well prepared.

“When we finished lots of school children, friends and parents were there to welcome us and we celebrated at the Royal Lymington Yacht Club.”

Georgia Squibb said: “It was challenging but the training paid off. The conditions were amazing.”

And Millie Martin said: “I feel like we’ve achieved a big thing. We’ve all trained so hard and it has paid off. It wasn’t too cold as we were in wet suits.

“I knew Lizzie quite well. It was a sad thing for everyone to go through.”