PICTURES: Polish extreme athlete attempts monster swim of Loch Ness in charity swim for Ronald McDonald foundation

An extreme swimmer from Poland is attempting to become the first of his countrymen to swim the length of Loch Ness today in a charity fundraiser.

Piotr Biankowski set off at dawn this morning from Lochend and hopes to make it to Fort Augustus by the afternoon if he completes the epic 23 mile swim in the chilly waters.

Support is coming from English Channel swimming veteran Kevin Murphy as his pilot along with his friend and fellow open water swimmer Aleksandra Kabelis, who also comes from Gdynia near the Baltic Sea.

Piotr previously told the Inverness Courier that he expects the hardest element of the challenge to be the water temperature.

However, he has form for braving the chill – being one of the organisers of the Gdynia Winter Swimming Cup competition.

The money raised will be used to purchase beds that will allow patients to stay comfortably overnight with their children in hospital.

Aleksandra (29) said: “This year the collection is to purchase beds for the parents of sick children so that they can watch over their children in comfortable conditions.

“We want to give them to the hospitals in Gdynia – this is Piotr’s hometown – and Wejherowo which is a city nearby."

Donations can be made online by looking up Piotr Biankowski on Facebook and following the link to the fundraising page.

Anyone who makes a donation of more than 250 zloty will receive a handmade Nessie soft toy.

Each one is made by prisoners on remand in Gdansk who signed up to be Ronald McDonald Foundation volunteers.

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