A 48-year-old father of three has braved freezing seas every day for a year to raise money for a charity that changed his daughter’s life.

Wayne Kenny of Loddiswell swims in the sea in all weathers and without a wetsuit in aid of the Totnes-based Cued Speech UK.

He began his punishing challenge on August 7 2020 in a bid to raise £5,000 for the charity which has helped his profoundly deaf daughter, Megan, make sense of the world.

Twenty years ago Wayne and his wife Kathy eagerly awaited the birth of their second child, but complications during the birth meant that when Megan was born she had several challenges to face and nearly lost her life on many occasions.

Kathy, who works as a regional family support advisor for Cued Speech, said: "I took every day one day at a time.

"We never knew if she would survive until tomorrow."

Following open heart surgery at just four-weeks-old and multiple procedures, Megan gradually became stronger.

However, she was diagnosed with Cerebral-Palsy, and it looked like she would be profoundly disabled.

"We were told emphatically that Megan would never walk or even sit unaided," said Wayne

"Then at 18 months we discovered that she was profoundly deaf."

The couple realised that without hearing, Megan was basically cut-off from the whole of her family, community, any potential friends, and education.

Wayne said: "Without hearing you don’t have language and you can’t think in a language.

"The world around a deaf child is silent.

"Nothing, just nothing makes any sense and the older the child gets the more frustrated they become because they haven’t got the words to say how they feel."

Kathy added: "We started to learn British Sign Language, but it’s actually really quite difficult to become fluent.

"When Megan went to school, she really struggled to keep up with her hearing peers because Sign Language could not show her the sounds in words and so reading and writing became a memory exercise which became more and more limiting.

"Then we heard about Cued Speech, and it made sense to give it a go. The deaf baby or child can ’see what you are saying.’

"We have been so grateful to the charity for all their support; Megan is now 20 and studying at South Devon College and doing incredibly well.

"She uses a cochlear implant, sign language, and some Cued Speech to access her full curriculum.

"We desperately need funds to keep Wayne going, but more importantly to fund the brilliant work done by the Cued Speech team."

Wayne has raised more than £2,800 towards his target of £5,000.

He said: "The water has been very very cold and most days I don’t want to get in.

"Once I committed to the challenge, I just had to stop reasoning with myself about whether I should go in or not, I have no choice, I’m getting in!’

Wayne only usually stays in for a couple of minutes. Any longer in the winter cold and he may have started to have problems recovering.

"My body has become acclimatised, so I don’t get that shock response anymore, but the coldest 7 degree C water was painful on my hands and feet." He laughed.

Wayne’s final swim is due to take place on Friday August 6 at Shoalstone Pool, Brixham at 6pm.

To donate visit www.gofundme.com/f/the-cued-speech-uk-365-sea-swim-challenge