When Paul Fehrenback arrived at Swanpool Beach in Falmouth on Sunday for his daily dip in the sea, he was surprised to find a crowd of supporters who were there not just to cheer him on, but to join him as he took to the water.

The reason for his cheerleading squad? It was Paul's 80th birthday so members of his family had decided he deserved some company for his mid-morning swim.

As a result, Paul was joined by some of his grandsons and great-grandsons as well as a few of their friends who were all keen to wish him a happy birthday in a rather unusual way. "It was a complete surprise when they all turned up," said Paul, who worked at Falmouth Docks for 40 years until his retirement at the age of 65.

Paul, who is married to Diane, and has three children, Paula, Debbie and Andrew; seven grandsons and five great-grandsons, has been going for swim every day of the year for more than 40 years.

"When I started I went swimming at night at Swanpool and people used to shine their torches at me to make sure I was OK," he said. "I then used to swim at the docks and then off the lifeboat station for several years, but I had an accident there and split my head open so they banned me from there so I'm back at Swanpool.

"If I can I sometimes go in two to three times a day, but this time of the year it's only once a day. On a nice day I will stay in for about five minutes, but I didn't stay in for very long on Sunday because it was quite a rough day."

Paul's birthday may have started with a cold and stormy dip in the ocean, but it ended in the warmth of the Halfway House at Rame where he was joined by 24 members of his family and friends for a celebratory meal.