A senior leisure attendant at the National Sport Centre pool has completed a five-mile sponsored swim to raise money for charity.

Mark Snell raised ?2,208.78 towards 3D mammography equipment for the Manx Breast Unit that has just opened at Noble’s Hospital.

Mark undertook the challenge after a close friend’s mother was diagnosed with breast cancer.

‘I originally decided to swim three miles, or 196 lengths of the NSC pool, but was persuaded by my fellow lifeguards that this wasn’t challenging enough, so I set myself a higher target and swam 320 lengths in a single day,’ he said.

Mark – who has never swum competitively – doubted whether he could complete the challenge but he said: ‘Adrenaline, the support of family, friends and colleagues and the knowledge he was supporting such a worthwhile cause pushed me past the pain barrier.’

Today, Mark handed the cheque over to the Manx Breast Cancer Support Group, which has raised ?1.7 million to build and equip the unit.

Mark was joined by Tim Crookall MLC, Minister for Education and Children – which is responsible for sport – and representatives of Friends Provident International/Aviva, which sponsored him.

Although the unit is fully operational, the charity is continuing its fundraising to ensure services can operate to the highest standard. The group plans to fund an upgrade of the breast screening machine to provide 3D images which can improve cancer detection rates. It also wants to purchase equipment to make use of a new form of radiotherapy to treat cancer during surgery.
Julie Stokes, the charity’s chairman, said: ‘We'd like to say a massive thank you to Mark for choosing to help our charity. We really appreciate his support.’

Photo - Mark Snell, NSC duty officer Steve Green (left) and Tim Crookall MLC, Minister for Education and Children (right), with – from left – May Hooper, Treasury Manager, Ruth Wilkinson, Finance Team Manager Julie Green, Senior Finance Technician, and Pam Corkish, Executive Secretary, from Friends Provident International /Aviva presenting the cheque to Carole Male, vice-chairman of the Manx Breast Cancer Support Group.