TWO teams from Wiveliscombe and Kingston St Mary successfully completed a 26km swimming challenge across a lake in Switzerland.

The Hounslow and McCarthy families came third in their wetsuit and skins categories respectively in the demanding Lake Zurich Marathon Swim.

Somerset County Gazette: Hamish McCarthyHamish McCarthy (Image: Hamish McCarthy)

Team Hounslow in third place on the podium.

They entered the event as teams of three, rotating every hour until the distance was completed, meaning each individual had just a two-hour break between each swim.

The swimmers battled strong winds and waves, making establishing a swimming rhythm exceptionally hard.

Isabel, at 12-years-old the youngest competitor said the occasion was "a truly epic endurance swim and great fun to do with my dad".

All six swimmers - Sarah, Emma and Helen Hounslow and Hamish, Gabriel and Isabel McCarthy - train at Wivey Pool, where Hamish, Emma and Helen work as lifeguards and Gabriel volunteers as part of his Duke of Edinburgh Award.

Somerset County Gazette: Hamish McCarthyHamish McCarthy (Image: Hamish McCarthy)

Team McCarthy in third place in their category.

Gabriel and Isabel, aged 12, are the youngest swimmers to have ever completed the race and were interviewed on Swiss TV.

Isabel called the occasion "a truly epic endurance swim and great fun to do with my dad".