FORMER Blue Peter presenter Andy Akinwolere visited Taunton Prep School to talk to pupils and their parents.

He spoke of his amazing experiences, including how he overcame his fear of water to set a new world record for swimming five miles across the Palau Trench – the deepest stretch of water in the world.

Andy also oversaw a swimming lesson in the school’s 25m indoor pool and offered tips and advice to some of the less confident swimmers in the class.

Andy proceeded to delight pupils, parents, and staff from Taunton Prep and local primary schools with his talk.

He spoke of his experiences with Blue Peter and how he was able to seize many opportunities to do things he could otherwise only have dreamed of doing.

His story of how he went from being a virtual non-swimmer and being terrified of water, to breaking the world record was entertaining and inspirational.