Nynehead resident Guy Burt has grabbed the gold at the Winter Swimming Championships in Slovenia.

The international competition took place in Lake Bled, where the water temperature was said to be 4°C. Local businessman Guy won the gold medal in the 100m freestyle, in the 55-59 age bracket.

Guy took up swimming around 11 years ago after chatting to a friend in the pub. He told the Wellington Weekly: "It's one of those classic ones in the pub. A friend of mine said I’ve entered this event to swim the Dardanelles do you fancy doing it. I said yeah yeah course that’ll be fine, maybe fuelled by too many alcoholic beverages."

This year's event was the 13th such event to be held, and featured competitors from around the world, including from Mongolia Estonia, the UK, Italy, Croatia and Argentina.

Guy swam the English Channel as part of a 3 man relay team last year, and has over the past 11 years swam at a number of international events. He also swims most days at the Wellington pool.

The event at Lake Bled involved a pontoon pool afloat in the 0.56 square mile Slovenian lake. Most of the events took place inside the floating pool, while the 1000m race, the longest distance, took place in open water.

Guy was presented with a gold medal on the podium, while his friend who he attended with, Jamie Bachelor, snagged two bronzes in the 100m and 50m races. Another British competitor was said to have won a silver medal.

Guy said he celebrated with a few beers in the evening, and dinner.