“It was mentally tough, physically demanding, but we hit the coast of France after 15 hours in the water.”

Those are the words of Ben Slatter, one of the five members of the Gloucester Dippers, who completed an epic swim of the English Channel at the end of last week.

Slatter, along with Rich Molloy, Gary Young, Dan Knapman and Gill Parry, made up the team that set off from Shakespeare Beach in Dover at 4am on Friday.

They’d been in training for more than a year but were given less than 18 hours’ notice by the Channel Swimming Association ahead of their big day.

They swam in relay – Knapman was the first in the water – and Slatter, who was the fourth swimmer, said: “The last four hours were horrific with the tides, we swam only 2.9 miles."

All five swimmers are aged 40-plus – Young and Molloy are more than 50 – and Slatter, who lives in Longlevens, said it was a special moment when they finally made it to France.

“There was a sense of euphoria,” he said. “I remember thinking, ‘Oh my days, we’ve actually done this!’

“We’ve been pushing this for about a year, so there was a big sense of relief too.

“Our biggest fear was failure. I’m so competitive, I’m not sure I could have shown my face if we hadn’t made it. Although we were swimming individually it was a team effort.”

They were doing it to raise money for, and raise awareness of, two very special causes – Anthony Nolan UK and Young Gloucestershire – and at the time of writing they had raised close to £14,000 which will be split evenly between the two charities.

It's been an incredible journey for all of them, one which had almost reached a conclusion when they left Dover for Gloucester at 8.30am on Saturday.

For Slatter, however, there was still a very busy few hours ahead because he is also head coach of Old Richians Rugby Club, who were hosting Old Patesians in a top-of-the-table Counties 2 Gloucestershire North game on Saturday.

“I walked through my door at 1.30pm, grabbed my kit and got to Richians just in time for the warm-up,” he said.

And had it not been for a late unconverted try by the Pats, it would have been a perfect weekend for 46-year-old Slatter.

The game ended 17-17 and he said: “It was disappointing but a draw was a fair scoreline, we’ll take the two points and move on.

“We’re still unbeaten, I’m extremely proud of the team, they put in a really good shift.”

Slatter, who is married to Emma, is in his second spell as head coach at Old Richians – he rejoined the club at the start of last season – and it's a role that will certainly keep him busy over the coming weeks and months after his English Channel challenge.

“I’ve promised my wife that there will be nothing else,” he said. “Mind you, I apply for a place in the London Marathon every year. I haven’t been accepted yet… I may try again for next year!”

Anthony Nolan UK works in the area of leukaemia and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation while Young Gloucestershire supports young people who are facing challenges in their lives.

To support the charity swim, visit https://channelrelaychallenge.co.uk/