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Here’s how men, women and children can become mermaids and mermen in West Sussex.

South Coast Mermaids is all about making swimming magical, according to Anna Haskell who founded the company in 2018.

The unique approach to swimming lessons was born out of the former primary school teacher’s desire to make being active more fun.

She said: “I saw a lot of children swimming up and down doing lengths, and getting quite bored. When you look at the options after learning to swim, they’re all competitive, whereas mermaids offers a non competitive fun, approach to swimming that just means you can stay active but have fun at the same time.”

Here’s how men, women and children can become mermaids and mermen in West Sussex. Pictured: Tilly Beresford. Photo credit: Habibur Rahman

While the classes were originally inspired by children, mermaid lessons are currently most popular with adults; one particular lesson that stands out for Anna was when she was booked for a surprise hen party.

The classes have also been featured on an episode of Hold the Front Page, starring Josh Widdicombe, Nish Kumar and our very own newspapers.

Anna said: “When I started, I didn’t even own adult tails, and that grew quite naturally, I had adults saying ‘I really want to try that’. [They] love it as a way to stay fit and have fun.

“I inspire creativity, so we swim around seaweed, we dive for treasure, we have fun while being active, and I think that’s the real spark.

“It’s a whole different experience. It’s a really natural movement.

“I find it really peaceful, it’s kind of that white noise and there’s no outside interruptions.

“It’s just magical.”

Despite just how popular Anna’s work is, she said it’s ‘almost impossible’ to explain what she does to people.

"I tend to get out my phone and show them pictures. There’s no real way of explaining what it’s like,” she added.

Classes take place weekly for both children and adults. For more information on how you can become a mermaid, visit: www.southcoastmermaids.com.

Anna uses pools across West Sussex, including Arundel Lido, Arun Leisure Centre, and Littlehampton Wave.

Anyone wishing to take part must already be able to swim, which Anna said is ‘a great incentive to learn’.

Water safety is ‘at the heart of everything Anna does’ and she has a partnership with the Royal Lifesaving Society, in addition to being an RNLI ambassador, so anyone taking part in lessons can be sure their safety is paramount.

'It's just magical' - Meet the West Sussex woman who is teaching people how to become mermaids

The classes have also been featured on an episode of Hold the Front Page, starring Josh Widdicombe, Nish Kumar and our very own newspapers.