Conor Murphy (23), formerly of Battlehill Road and now working as a trainee accountant in Leicester, snorkelled his way through the muddy waters to victory in one minute, 38.9 seconds. Currently the world record time stands at one minute, 35 seconds.

And while happy with his time, he intends to get his wetsuit on again next year and have a crack at beating the record. "I took part in the recent Peatlands Park bog snorkelling event and broke the record by five seconds, with a time of one minute, 30 seconds, but unfortunately, no-one from the Guinness Book of Records was there to officially record it," said Conor. "But, I'll be back next year and hopefully break the record again!"

A record number of entrants donned a snorkel, fins, and in many cases fancy dress to cover 120 yards of a peat bog in Llanwrtyd Wells, Powys, Mid Wales, on Bank Holiday Monday - all for £50, a trophy and the honour of the title!

A competitive swimmer in his teenage years - he was Irish Triathlon champion six years ago - Conor now intends to take the bog snorkelling lark a little more seriously and put in some training for next year's main event. He also hopes to take part in a fund-raising Channel swim from Dover to France - a gruelling challenge covering 22 miles and taking around 20 hours depending on the currents.

"I will be swimming in temperatures of around 13 degrees Celsius, so it will also be really cold out there, but it's something I would really love to have a go at," he added. "Hopefully, swimming in bogs will have gained me some stamina for this swim, which is going to take a ridiculous amount of training as preparation."

Swimming is a bit of a misnomer, as it happens, as the bog snorkellers were not allowed to 'swim' using conventional strokes. Officials insist they 'doggy paddle' or hold their arms out in front while kicking and splashing their way along the murky depths of the course.

"All I can say is it was like kicking your way furiously through sludge or very thick vegetable soup, only not as pleasant a smell," added Conor. "I guess you have to be a little mad to do it as you still find bits of peat in your ears, weeks after the event.

"You can see nothing in front of you, but luckily the channel is quite narrow, so if you bump into the side, you know to straighten yourself up and aim straight ahead again!"

Despite taking part to win, Conor says bog snorkelling can only ever be seen as a bit of fun and there was even a special category for those who wanted to take the madness a little further and wear fancy dress at the same time. "We saw people dressed in all sorts of costumes - there was someone in full body paint as a turtle, a woman in her wedding dress and someone as a 'kitchen', complete with ironing board strapped to their back.