A real-life Princess Ariel who swims with sharks and turtles has learned to hold her breath for four minutes to amaze kids in her shows as a mermaid.
Naomi Trott, 37, uses a monofin to swim with the sea creatures in aquarium displays nationwide
A strong swimmer since childhood, she still trains for five hours a week to keep in shape and practice holding her breath.
Her personal best is four minutes and seven seconds.
But her greatest joy is seeing her young audience’s reaction.
She said: “It’s incredible seeing children’s faces light up when they see a real-life mermaid.
“It’s magical. We’ve got radio contact with the staff on the other side.
“One said, ‘When you went down there, there was a little girl and she said, ‘Mummy look there’s a ginger mermaid just like me’. I cried, it was just so wonderful.”
Naomi, of Bristol, has performed part-time since 2019.
She loves swimming with animals but said: “We have to be careful with what we wear, that there’s no glitter or beads that could harm them.
“We are guests in the animals’ home so they take priority over what we wear.”
This story originally appeared on The Sun and was reproduced here with permission.
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