Linton based GP completes icon Straits of Gibraltar swim

Long distance swimmer Dr Mig Arbide has added another achievement to his CV by crossing the Straits of Gibraltar.

Dr Arbide, a GP based at Linton Health Centre, raised £5,000 last year for Melanoma Focus when he swam the English Channel.

His solo attempt was abandoned due to the tide conditions but he returned four weeks later to complete the crossing in a relay team.

He decided back in 2016, along with fellow open water swimmers David Coleman, from New Zealand, and Briton Matt Johnson, to apply to swim the Straits, which measure between 14 and 15km at its shortest point.

The trio finally departed from the Spanish city of Tarifa at 7.45am.

West Wratting resident Mig, 48, said: “Four hours into the swim, having passed near huge container ships, Africa was close.

“I started feeling a bit tired but was not going to slow down until we were there as we risked drifting along the coast.

“Almost without warning the coast was there. We swam hard and touched a rocky shore off Point Cires near Jebel Musa ( the African ‘Pillar of Hercules’) in the northern Morrocan coast.

“We completed the 15.1km swim in a respectable 4 hours and 32 minutes.

“We were all delighted.”