Huge support for Iain Hughes & his family as West Midlands firefighter is missing in the English Channel

Thousands of people have shown support for Iain Hughes - the West Midlands firefighter who has gone missing while attempting to swim the English Channel for charity.

Iain, a crew manager at Wednesburyfire station, went missing in the water following his attempt to swim the Channel on Tuesday (June 20).French authorities have confirmed the search for the father-of-two has now been called off following an extensive operation.

Iain, a married father-of-two from Dudley, joined West Midlands Fire Service in 1999, at the age of 19. He was posted to Bournbrook fire station in Birmingham, and later served at Billesley, Tipton, Wolverhampton, Tettenhall, Bilston, Brierley Hill and Stourbridge. He was promoted to Crew Manager in 2016 and joined our Technical Rescue Unit in 2022.

The firefighter was swimming the Channel to raise money for the British Heart Foundation, the Fire Fighters Charity and the Midlands Air Ambulance. More than £15,400 has been raised for these charities on Iain’s JustGiving page so far, which you can see, here.

Iain’s last post on social media on June 2 said his solo swim had been delayed due to bad weather. He wrote: “Stormy weather has prevented me from attempting the channel this week! Managed to get some training hours with my support crew.”

Since the news came out of Iain’s disappearance, many people have thrown their support behind the missing firefighter and his family. Posting on Twitter, the Fire Fighters charity, wrote: “Our thoughts today are with @WestMidsFire and with the family, friends and colleagues of Firefighter Iain Hughes who has gone missing during an attempt to swim the English Channel - a challenge he was undertaking to raise funds for us and two other charities.”

The Jersey Fire and Rescure service, added: “Very sad to hear this news today. Our thoughts are very much with @WestMidsFire and the family, friends and colleagues of Firefighter Iain Hughes who has gone missing during an attempt to swim the English Channel.” Another person wrote on Twitter: “Our thoughts are with @WestMidsFire and CM Iain Hughes family and friends, at this incredibly difficult time.”

One Twitter user, said: “My thoughts are with the family, friends and colleagues of Iain Hughes. Such tragic news.” A local group of swimmers called Brainwaves Teambch who are also fundraising for charity and had trained with Iain, wrote in a post on their Instagram page: “It’s been such a difficult few days for the team … we’ve been training with Iain at our local lakes and in Dover with our boat. We are all devastated with the news of Iain going missing on his solo attempt on Tuesday.

“A husband, dad, firefighter and all around amazing human inside and out. We were privileged that our paths crossed over the past year and sometimes in the water when sighting went off! We are sure his spirit will guide our relays across in August. All our heartfelt thoughts and prayers are with his family and crew at this time.”

What has the West Midlands Fire Service said?

A statement from the West Midlands Fire Service, said: “We are heartbroken to confirm that one of our Crew Managers, Iain Hughes, is missing after his inspiring attempt to swim the English Channel for charity. Iain, based at Wednesbury fire station with our Technical Rescue Unit, began his attempt yesterday morning, accompanied by a support boat.

“Yesterday evening, we learned that Iain had been missing for several hours .In spite of search efforts involving French and Belgian military helicopters, plus navy and police patrol boats, Iain’s whereabouts remain unknown.”

Chief Fire Officer, Wayne Brown, added: “Iain’s disappearance is unspeakably sad. We are giving Iain’s family all the support we can at this distressing time.“Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and everyone close to Iain. He is a highly-respected and much-loved colleague and friend to many.”