TONY Holland spent two decades as a sailor in the Royal Navy travelling all over the world, but it wasn’t until he retired that he decided to take up distance swimming as a hobby.

And on his 75th birthday he took to the water with the aim of swimming 75 lengths to raise almost £500 for the charity that has helped his wife Norma deal with the loss of her sight.

But Tony, who reached the rank of Chief Petty Officer and spent his last years in the service aboard the aircraft carrier HMS Hermes, actually managed to swim 81 lengths during his 59 mins 45secs marathon effort at the Lime Kiln pool – which he only found out after he checked his electronic swim tag, which measured the distance he had travelled.

He said: “You don’t know exactly how many lengths you have done until you get out and download the tag.”

Even though he counted as he swam and then did a few more just to be on the safe side, he was still surprised to see the final figure.

He explained how he started the birthday swimming challenge four years ago when he and his wife used to run a singing group for people with dementia. They had lost their funding from the Alzheimer’s Society so they decided to raise the money themselves.

His first attempt was frustrated on the day when he arrived at the pool near where he was living in Devon to find it completely drained for maintenance that was expected to take a year.

“I had £450 in sponsorship riding on it so I went to another pool at Barnstaple,” he said.

This year, because Norma is being treated for age related macular degeneration, he decided to raise money for the Macular Society. He was bolstered by sponsorship from friends, family, pool staff as well as groups including Malmesbury Community Choir, Devizes Afternoon Choir and the Bradenstoke Golden Girls.

Tony first went to sea as an 18-year-old and often swam with the crew when they had a chance to relax in foreign climes.

He also played rugby, cricket and football before he left the service and went to work as a security expert for sherry producer John Harvey.

“The Macular Society has been very supportive.

“It is mainly volunteers and if you’ve got any problems you can phone them any time of day or night and get information or have a shoulder to cry on,” he said.

Age related macular degeneration affects more than 600,000 people in the UK and is incurable, but can be slowed with treatment.