Swimmer conquers the notorious Hell's Mouth channel

A SCOTTISH woman has completed the first recorded swim across the treacherous Pentland Firth - known as Hell's Mouth as it has claimed so many ships.

Colleen Blair, 33, of Aberfeldy, has conquered one of the few remaining swimming challenges where so many have been beaten.

She swam the nine-mile stretch from Orkney to mainland Scotland, setting off from the south tip of Hoy at Torness to arrive in Caithness near the Castle of Mey in four hours, 41 minutes, 21 seconds. After her success on Monday she said: "It is one of the routes that has never been done before. It has been tried a few times but nobody has managed it. I'm really happy. It was a tough swim."