Swimmer died after attempting to swim the English Channel

A man in his 40s has died while trying to swim the English Channel.

The swimmer fell ill half-way across the Channel, 12 miles from Dover, Kent, and was airlifted to hospital where he sadly died.

A Coastguard helicopter based at Lydd was scrambled around 9.30pm and airlifted the swimmer to the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford.

A spokesman for the Maritime and Coastguard Agency said this morning: “Last night at around 9.20pm, UK Coastguard received a VHF Radio call from a support vessel reporting that a cross channel swimmer was in difficulty and needed assistance.

“The vessel was in French waters around 12 nautical miles from Dover.

“The UK Coastguard search and rescue helicopter based at Lydd, which was training nearby, arrived on scene within 10 minutes and airlifted the swimmer to the William Harvey Hospital, Ashford.”

Kent Police said: “We were called at 9.44pm to a report that a man in his 40s had become unwell following an attempt to swim the English Channel.

“The man was flown to a local hospital and later died.

“The death is not being treated as suspicious and a report will be prepared for the coroner.”