Veteran sea swimmer Jim Wild, who celebrated his 80th birthday by swimming around the Palace Pier in Brighton, has died, aged 92.

Mr Wild, a widower, known to many as "the old man of the sea", even marked his 90th year with a swim off the Sussex coast.

A member of Brighton Swimming Club, friends said he knew more about the sea than any other person in the city.

As a pensioner he swam around the pier many times a week during the summer.

It is thought his greatest achievement was when, at the age of 75, he swam 1km around the Palace Pier on New Year's Day with the temperature at just 7C (45F).

Fellow swimmer Henry Law, 65, of Queen's Gardens, Brighton, joined Mr Wild on that chilly adventure.

He said: "He'd been swimming in Brighton since 1948 and was very sharp at reading the water - he could read it like a book just by looking at it, the current, the winds, the tides.

"If you are going to swim around the pier you can't muck about. He was very fit right to the end. He was a strong personality and will be missed."

Mr Wild died at his home in Hartington Terrace, Brighton, on Saturday.

A pawnbroker by trade, he had been an aircraft engineer during the war.

He had helped organise the Surf Life Saving Association in the 1940s with equipment donated by the Australian High Commission Members would give lifesaving demonstrations on Albion beach and took part in national competitions, particularly in Cornwall.

He was also a long-distance walker and, even in his 80s, could stride for 20 miles on the Downs.

Friend and neighbour Terry Sinnott said: "We knew him for over 50 years. He was a very, very nice gentleman.

"He could walk up hills at the same rate he walked on the flat. He just kept going and surprised a lot of young people. He had a real passion for the outdoors."

Mr Wild's wife Connie died more than 20 years ago. The couple, who were married for 25 years, had no children.

Mr Sinnott said: "He always used to say, Well, what's the difference between pawnbroking and borrowing money on a card? There's no difference really'. He was a real individual, his own boss and very helpful. He was also in fantastic shape for a man of his age.

"He was looking forward to swimming on his 93rd birthday this year."