David Walliams swims English Channel

LONDON, July 4 (UPI) -- "Little Britain" star David Walliams swam the English Channel in just under 10 1/5 hours Tuesday to raise 500,000 pounds ($640,000) for charity.

Walliams tackled the Britain to France swim to raise funds for Sport Relief, which uses its donations to improve the lives of children in disadvantaged and divided communities worldwide, the Daily Mail said.

Walliams said he agreed to the challenge after visiting Ethiopia and seeing first hand the problems people faced.

Walliams has been training for 11 months with former Olympic pentathlete Greg Whyte. He spent time in a special "cold tank" to be able to withstand the strain of the frigid channel temperature.