An online fundraiser organised by a firefighter presumed dead in an attempt to swim the English Channel has surpassed its target.

Iain Hughes went missing in French waters on Tuesday, with an extensive search by French and Belgian authorities having since been called off.

The 42-year-old father-of-two, a crew manager for the West Midlands Fire Service (WMFS), had been attempting to raise £21,000 – £1,000 for every mile of his swim – for the British Heart Foundation, The Fire Fighters Charity and the Midlands Air Ambulance.

Mr Hughes had raised more than £5,000 as of Wednesday evening but by Thursday afternoon, the fundraising total stood at over £23,000 following a plea from Mr Hughes’s colleagues.

In a video posted on the service’s Twitter account, Simon Barry, deputy chief fire officer at WMFS, asked people to donate if they could to the fundraiser.

He said: “We are heartbroken about the tragic news about Iain.

“We are doing everything we can to support his family.

We want to do what we can for Iain. We can't think of any better way to support (him) than to help him raise money for his chosen charities

“I hope, like us, they are heartened and comforted by the many messages of support you have shared on social media. Thank you.

“We also want to do what we can for Iain. We can’t think of any better way to support (him) than to help him raise money for his chosen charities.

“That is why this weekend we will be arranging a series of events across our service to help him meet and exceed his target.”

Mr Hughes had trained for nearly two years for his cross-Channel charity swim and left the Kent coast accompanied by a support boat.

Wayne Brown, the WMFS chief fire officer, had earlier said that Mr Hughes’s disappearance was “unspeakably sad” and that he was “a highly respected and much-loved colleague and friend to many”.