'I love bog snorkelling because it saved my life'

Julia said the snorkelling festival in mid Wales "saved my life".

She was laid up in hospital unable to walk, aged 25, with a back problem and sciatica down both legs, needing a walking frame to get around and taking 16 tablets a day to ease her pain.

"My life wasn't really worth living and I was going have surgery on my back but doctors said I was on too many tablets to operate," Julia recalled.

"A friend of mine gave me the Guinness Book of Records and I saw this guy coming out of a bog in Wales.

"I live in a bog in Ireland and I was always warned against the dangers of a bog - so that picture opened my eyes and I wanted to do it."

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Julia's inspiration came from the mud of mid Wales where the "whacky" showpiece had become a bucket list event for alternative thrill-seekers.

"I'd never swum before but I needed to swim to help my recovery and competing in Wales was my goal for getting better and I've not looked back since - it changed my life," said the supply teacher from the Republic of Ireland.

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Julia now snorkels around the world but feels Llanwrtyd Wells - where six world records have been broken, including Rutter's current 1 minute and 18.81 second time from 2018 - is to bog snorkelling what Wimbledon is to tennis.

"If it wasn't for Wales I wouldn't be alive," she said, holding back tears.

"When I come here it feels like I'm home, it has a special place in my heart. Wales is the mecca of bog snorkelling."