Customs officers to battle the elements to honour colleague

Monday 10 September 2018

Six swimmers from Customs and Immigration will be attempting a round-the-island swim to honour the memory of their colleague who died suddenly whilst out on his bike over three years ago.

40-year-old Neil Hussey had spoken about wanting to do a swim around the island, so now his friends and colleagues have put a team together to raise funds for the charity set up in his memory: the Neil Hussey Heart Charity.

A JustGiving page gathering sponsorship for the relay swim has already surpassed its fundraising target and, at the time of writing, had donations totalling over £1,000.

The charity was created after Neil passed away suddenly when his heart stopped whilst out cycling and it aims to provide free heart screenings to detect undiagnosed heart conditions in adults and school children.

Pictured: Cyclists preparing for C5 Cycling Challenge in Neil Hussey's memory to raise funds for The Jersey Stroke Association and the Neil Hussey Heart Charity (Facebook), which took place this weekend. 

The team have been training since May and were prepared to battle wind and swell tomorrow in order to honour the memory of their former Assistant Director - but the forecast conditions are too bad, and the team have decided to postpone the swim until October, when they hope for better conditions. If they don't get them, they'll swim next year instead. 

With a very heavy heart, the team have had to make the decision to postpone the swim attempt tomorrow. The wind and wave forecast is too severe.

So sorry to all the people who have been so generous. We will complete this, but we need to do it safely. pic.twitter.com/LDAbatYWbx

— JCISRoundTheIsland (@jcisrti) September 10, 2018

A spokesperson for the swim team said that they had to prioritise the safety of the swimmers and that they were grateful for the support of their friends, colleagues and everyone who has made donations to the JustGiving page, adding that they "would not let them down!"

Pictured: The team from JCIS in training for the relay sea swim so they can meet their goal to complete the challenge in 10 hours (JCIS).

Organiser Warrick Horsfall said: “This was something Neil often spoke about attempting and we thought it would be a fitting tribute if we could take on this challenge to raise funds for a great cause."