Two Bradford sisters are hoping to make a splash tonight as they try to break a world record - for the second time.

While most young people will spend their Saturday night out on the tiles, Dee Llewellyn, 23, and her sister Liane, 19, of Radfield Road, Odsal, will be swimming across England's largest lake - Windermere - twice.

They are taking part in the Windermere Two-Way, a 21-mile race which attracts swimmers from across Britain.

The race is held every other year and in 1999 Dee set a record time of nine hours and 15 minutes - a record which no other swimmer, including male entrants, has matched.

Dee said: "I'm confident I can beat the record so long as I get the feeding programme right.

"I know I start to tire and slow in 45-minute cycles so I'll be taking high- energy glucose drinks to get me through.

"I was amazed that I got the record and I'm determined to break it and swim the lake in under nine hours."

Dee admits that her parents, Pat and Gwyn were slightly dubious about their daughter competing in the night swim, but said they were very supportive.

"They thought I was mad for wanting to swim Windermere but they were really pleased last time I did it and are really proud."

Dee, who works as a maths and information technology teacher in Dewsbury, said the lake was famed for its test of stamina.

"There aren't many people who have completed the Windermere Two-Way. It is harder than swimming the Channel - which is something I aim to do."

Liane, 19, began competing in national championships a couple of years after her sister.

A student at Salford University, Liane started swimming in 1994 after getting bored watching Dee in action.

This will be her longest swim yet and she admitted to feeling daunted. "At the moment there are nerves but there's excitement too," she said.

The race starts at Waterhead, Ambleside, with Dee starting at 9.30pm and Liane an hour earlier.

Gill Stables, who is organising the event on behalf of the British Long Distance Swimming Association, said: "It's a major organisational effort for officials and swimmers. Each competitor has a support boat with a navigator and two rowers on board to assist with feeding and direction.

"Captain Matthew Webb - the first man to swim the Channel - declined the challenge of Windermere, saying the fresh water with no buoyancy from salt made it too tough."

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