OPERATIC music entertained an audience, helping to raise money for a swimming club.

Singing for Swimming was held in St Mary’s Church, Overton, on February 7, in aid of Lordsfield Swimming Club, based at Overton Primary School.

Overton-born Thomas Birch and his wife Amy Corkery flew from Venice to perform a range of songs, giving up their time for free to benefit the local club.

The classical music event generated £3,000 for Lordsfield.

The couple sang a range of well-known songs, including Nessun Dorma and I Dreamed a Dream, accompanied by Joyce Fieldsend, in front of an audience of 220.

Thomas spent four years touring the world with renowned classical crossover group The Ten Tenors.

He has also performed at The Melbourne Cup, on The Oprah Winfrey Show and at various international sporting events.

Amy has appeared as a soloist in the Sydney Opera House and with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.

Dick West, fundraising chairman of the swimming club, said: “We were overwhelmed by the quality of the performance in our village of Overton. It was fit for London.”

Lauren McCann, the club’s communication co-ordinator, added: “The concert was amazing. We are hugely grateful to Amy, Thomas and Joyce for their generosity in treating us to such a fantastic performance in aid of our pool.”

Some of the money raised from the event will go towards the running of the pool and will also be used to train rescuers and first-aiders.

As previously reported in The Gazette, the pool was under threat of closure in 2013 because of cuts to funding.

The committee has since launched a fundraising campaign to generate enough cash to keep it open.