Donations have been pouring in for a Leicestershire charity swimmer who died while attempting to cross the English Channel to raise money for two charities.
Susan Taylor, 34, from Barwell, collapsed a mile from the French coast when she became ill on Sunday afternoon.
Her paramedic brother David, who was in the support boat, pulled her out of the water and battled to save her. Her husband and coach Stephen was on the support boat.
A French navy helicopter flew Susan to hospital in Boulogne-sur-Mer, but she was declared dead at 7pm.
Donations for the two charities she was swimming for - Rainbows Children's Hospice in Loughborough and Diabetes UK - have so far topped £60,000.
The total amount for Rainbows stood at £52,821.36 and at £8,159.96 for Diabetes UK by 10.55am.
In a statement released through the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Susan's family said: "Susan was an experienced long-distance swimmer and had prepared tirelessly for the challenge.
"Susan's family are grateful for all the messages of support they have received but would now ask for privacy to come to terms with this tragic event."
The statement added that people could continue to donate money to the two charities in her memory.
It added: "Susan took great pride in her fundraising for some amazing charities and we would like her sacrifice to be recognised in the only way she would have wanted,"
Rainbows community and events manager Katie Baxter said: "There has been a huge amount of donations in the past couple of hours.
"Susan was an ambassador for Rainbows and was one of the team who went to networking events inspiring others to raise money for the charity.
"It's a huge amount of money, but it is a very bitter-sweet moment for the charity. We will be talking to the family when they are ready to talk about doing something in her memory."
Susan Taylor from Stuart Ritchie on Vimeo.
The comedian and Britain's Got Talent judge David Walliams is believed to have donated £1,000 to Mrs Taylor's fundraising page. A donation of that amount was made under the name of the Little Britain star, who swam the Channel in 2006, with the message "Sending all my love to Susan's family and friends." He also tweeted a link to the page, writing: "Susan Taylor's Channel swim attempt very sadly ended in tragedy. This is her charity page if you want to donate". He added:" Despite the shock and sadness, it's good to see heroic Susan Taylor's charity total rising. Please give what you can..." Tributes continue to come in for the tireless charity fund raiser who had been an ambassador for Rainbows for two years. A statement from Hinckley United Football Club said; "At this time our thoughts and prayers are with Susan's husband and her family and friends. "All at the club were greatly impressed by Susan's determination to take on this challenge, she was a huge asset to the club and will be sadly missed." See Susan Taylor's Channel Swim for Rainbows fundraising page HERE. See Susan Taylor's channel swim for Diabetes UK page HERE. And as soon as the news broke people took to Twitter to share tributes and messages of condolence. RELATED ARTICLE: Donations soar after death of Channel charity swimmer Susan Taylor