A cross-channel swimmer who suffered a cardiac arrest while he was training near Dover Beach has woken up in hospital.

Steve Fish, who prides himself on being fit and has undertaken 10 triathlons, had to be rescued from the sea on Sunday.

He was training as part of an organised cross-channel swim group when he got into difficulty near the Dover Sea Sports Centre.

Emergency services, including the air ambulance, coastguard, Dover lifeboat, police, and ambulance crews were called at 12.30pm after Mr Fish was spotted struggling in the water.

Paramedics performed CPR on him on Dover Beach before taking him to William Harvey Hospital in Ashford.

Steve's son Thomas Fish says his father's near-death ordeal came as a huge shock considering how fit he is.

Thomas, who works as a waiter in Tunbridge Wells, said he was alerted to the emergency by his stepmother, Tania, who had been in Berlin at the time and flew back to be by her husband's side.

The 17-year-old described the trauma the family went through waiting to see if Mr Fish would wake up.

"On the first few nights he was on life support, but now he is stable in a cardiac ward," he said.

"Now that he is better we are able to get a decent night's sleep for the first time since it happened.

"We would like to thank all who helped him - it was a fantastic effort."

Mr Fish, who lives on Dudley Road, Folkestone, has never swum the channel before, but his triathlons have involved him swimming 2.4 miles, cycling 112 miles, and running a marathon, one after the other.