A 12-hour charity swim by staff from the Best Western Palace Hotel ♦ Casino has raised more than £2,000 for the Isle of Man Parkinson’s Disease Society.

Ten staff were joined by one hotel resident, Kevin Ford from 3FM radio station and four members from the charity, along with Sefton Group Chief Executive Brett Martin and Director Clive Parrish, as they attempted to swim the length of the deepest man-made hole in the world.

The Russian borehole in the Kola Peninsula is about 7.5 miles deep and took 24 years to drill. To reach that depth, the swimmers had to complete 800 lengths of the Palace Health Club swimming pool – but they managed to go even further, reaching an incredible 1,000 lengths in the 12 hours.

In total, £2,013.46 was raised for the IOM Parkinson’s Disease Society, which is the hotel’s chosen charity for 2012.

Heading up the swimathon team was Palace Health Club Manager Ken Hedley, who was joined by colleagues Kristy Ashe, Danielle Cini, Daniel Spiteri, Kieran Chason, Jackie Murphy, Gareth Capper, Paul Letten, Rom Kesa and Danny Cannell.

Ken said: ‘It was a fantastic effort from everyone, and we’re delighted to have completed the challenge and to have raised so much money for the IOM Parkinson’s Disease Society. Being a relay, it was a real team effort and I’d like to thank all our staff who took part on the day – and all those who joined in the fun to help us towards our target.

‘We also held a coffee morning and raffle, with cakes, refreshments and raffle prizes donated by Palace Health Club members and friends, so our thanks also go to everyone who supported us on the day.’