A past president of Suffolk Chamber has raised £1200 for charity after completing a gruelling one mile swim.

Sarah Howard MBE, who recently stood down as president of the chamber, took part in this year’s Great East Swim in order to raise funds for local charity Inspire Suffolk.

“I was well out of my comfort zone, not having done anything like this before, but felt great at the end,” she said.

“More important to me than this was the kindness of so many people in sponsoring me to complete the course. I’m delighted to have raised, at the latest count, £1200 for Inspire Suffolk which does so much for the county’s young people through encouraging their participation in sport and other physical activities.”

Chamber chief executive John Dugmore said: “Like so many local businesspeople, Sarah is very, very community spirited and puts so much of her energy into supporting brilliant projects like Inspire Suffolk.

“Such civic businesses, as well as creating jobs and wealth, are frequently the backbone of the communities in which they are part.”