A British man has died while trying to swim across the English Channel.

Nick Thomas left Dover on Saturday morning and had been swimming for 16 hours when he began to struggle, according to reports.

Mr Thomas, 45, was unconscious when he was pulled from the water by rescuers on Sunday, police said.

They put him in a safety boat near Calais before trying to revive him with CPR.

He arrived at Calais at about midnight local time and was taken to hospital by ambulance but died just before 3am.


Police said his heart had stopped and he was in a state of cardio-respiratory arrest when he arrived.

Our friend Nick Thomas left us whilst doing what he loved - he just kept going. He'll always be a part of what we do and who we are. — Enduroman Events (@EnduromanEvents) August 28, 2016

A spokesman for the governing body the Channel Swimming and Piloting Federation said the swimmer had been "taken from the water less than a mile from the finish".

They added: "It is an extreme spot, we know the risks.

"He was doing what he loved doing. Our thoughts are with his family."

Image: Nick Thomas was an experienced swimmer who swum the Channel before in 2014

Mr Thomas, from Ellesmere in Shropshire, was an experienced swimmer, previously managing to swim the Channel in 2014.

A Foreign Office spokesman said: "We are offering assistance to the family of a British national following his death in Calais, France."