Underwater marathon man emerges from Loch Ness

Lloyd Scott emerged from Loch Ness in an antique diving suit yesterday after a 12-day walk below the surface to claim a record as the world's first underwater marathon man. But he reported no sightings of the legendary monster.

Mr Scott, 41, a former firefighter and professional footballer from Rainham in Essex, spent more than a month training and qualifying as a diver before taking to the Loch to raise awareness of a fundraising drive for the charity Children with Leukaemia.

Mr Scott, himself a survivor of leukaemia, began his underwater journey on 28 September at the opposite end of Loch Ness in Fort Augustus and spent up to four hours a day under the 37F (3C) water, to a maximum depth of 30ft, wearing the 180lb diving suit.

Covering an average of three miles a day in almost zero visibility Mr Scott, who has previously worn the same outfit in more conventional land marathons in London, New York and Edinburgh, said the journey had been a real adventure.

"I've had to cope with poor visibility, which has at times been nil, I've had to work against the resistance and the pressure of the water," he said as he emerged from the water at Lochend, near Inverness. "The air line also kept getting caught and I also had to deal with a build-up of carbon dioxide in the helmet. It's also very cold and very lonely."

Mr Scott is already planning his next unusual fundraising stunt - cycling across Australia on a penny farthing bicycle.