Andrew Allum is the proud holder of an ice swimming world record after he swam 90 lengths of the outdoor pool at Rye Lido.

The Wycombe District Swimming Club (WDSC) Master swam a distance of 3km in water which had to be colder than 5C, under the rules of the International Ice Swimming Association (IISA), beating the previous record by 600 metres.

Allum’s attempt took place in February but needed to be ratified by the IISA – confirmation which has just been announced, allowing the Wycombe swimmer to take his place in the record books.

This was Allum’s second attempt at breaking the record after he called off his first go as it wasn’t cold enough in the winter of 2014 to plunge the water below the required temperature.

“I’ve been cold water swimming for a few years and I’d read about in an open water swimming magazine that people were breaking the record and I thought I would have a crack at it,” he said.

“You have to do the distance as quick as possible because the longer you’re in the water the colder you’re getting.

“I worked out how long I could be in the water safely before I would get too cold and then I went for that distance.

“I thought about 45 minutes was the maximum I could safely do, so I thought 3km would be a good distance to go for.”

Estonian swimmer Henri Kaarma was the previous holder of the record and a face whom Allum is familiar with as the pair have met previously at events such as World Winter Swimming Championship events, which take place across Scandinavia.

A timekeeper, two witnesses, a cameraman and his parents were present when the WDSC swimmer attempted to break the record on February 3 after the pool had become available at short notice.

It took Allum 47 minutes to complete 90 lengths of the pool, more than surpassing the distance posted by Kaarma.

For many, the prospect of entering a pool of freezing cold water would be enough to send a shiver down their spine but getting in is the easy part, according to Allum.

He said: “There’s a little group of us who swim all year round so I was quite used to getting into the cold water, so that wasn’t much of a shock.

“When you’re actually in the water you don’t notice it that much and the cold doesn’t really catch up with you until you get out.

“I knew the cold was going to hit so I’d arranged for lots of people to be there and take care of me when I got out.”

Tooting Bec Lido in London hosts the annual Cold Water Swimming Championships and other events of a similar nature have begun to take place across the country.

Allum has vowed to keep competing at ice swimming events and if his new world record were to fall he knows for sure what he would do.

“It’s (cold water swimming) getting a bit more popular in Britain now and every year there are a few championships across the country,” said Allum.

“There’s one in London and one in Windermere – they tend to be shorter for safety reasons but I’m going to keep on doing them.”

He added: “I imagine someone might have a crack at it (the world record) next winter but hopefully I’ll have the joy of holding it until then. If someone beats it I’m not going to go for it again as I think I’ve reached my limit.”