A long-distance swimmer collapsed and died as she neared the end of an attempt to swim the English Channel, an inquest's heard.

Recording a verdict of misadventure, coroner Trevor Kirkman praised the 'kind and caring' swimmer, who took on the huge feat selflessly to fundraise.

The 34-year-old, from Barwell in Leicestershire, was pulled from the water by a crew member in a support boat after being taken ill a mile off the French coast last July.

But she was pronounced dead after being airlifted to a hospital in Boulogne.

The Loughborough inquest was told Mrs Taylor suffered an acute cardio-respiratory collapse despite training hard ahead of the quest.

She had set off from the Kent coast at 2am on July 14 and, despite being sick several times, there was nothing untoward in the first few hours of the swim.

But towards the end of the challenge, the inquest heard, she appeared to be having difficulty with her strokes and was showing signs of fatigue.

She was then seen lying on her back, seemingly unconscious, before rolling onto her front and floating face down in the water.

Mrs Taylor was brought onto the boat while the pilot radioed for help. But she sadly died later.

Recording a verdict of misadventure, the senior coroner for North Leicestershire, Trevor Kirkman, ruled that prolonged open sea swimming had caused the accountant's death.

He paid tribute to Mrs Taylor's charity work, and told her family they should be very proud of her.

In a statement issued after the hearing, her family described Mrs Taylor as a "wonderful person... dedicated to helping those less fortunate than herself".