A CHILDREN’S author and environmental mermaid spoke to an appreciative audience in Ross-on-Wye highlighting her campaign against water pollution.

In the grounds of the Hope and Anchor Lindsey Cole spoke with the Friends of the River Wye and lots of children and revealed that she recently swam across the Bristol Channel in her mermaid tail, towing a big poo sculpture.

She said: “I turned my kids’ book of the adventure, The Mermaid, the Otter and the Big Poo, into a show, which has since toured the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Glastonbury and schools across the country.

“And now I'm bringing it to communities along the River Wye. It's a fun, interactive show with audience participation, lots of silliness and songs about poo. My favourite part is hearing the kids leaving singing my songs.

“I've been excited to meet fellow river campaigners from Friends of the River Wye who I've been communicating for some time and meeting with the little eco warriors before they go back to school.”

Lindsey explained that she saw that divers in Australia were using mono-fins and used this for her inspiration in becoming a mermaid and experimented in the River Thames and helped rescue a drowning cow.

She added: “A local school asked if they could use my story for their school play. I soon realised that being a mermaid was a good way to talk to children about important topics.

“It’s very hard being a mermaid. It’s not as easy as it looks, as when you are swimming it involves a lot of strength in the core of my body and my hips.

“I’ve always like the story telling of mermaids and following the incident with the cow, I was looking around for another suitable campaign to highlight, and the River Wye’s pollution problem was an ideal candidate.”