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NATALIA SUVOROVA, 33, is a freelance videographer and photographer, from Crystal Palace, London.

She says: “I’m from Estonia and when I was at school, there was one monofin which all the girls wanted to use to feel like a mermaid.

“Recently, I remembered this and thought I would try to recreate it.

“But it’s very hard to find pools that let you use a monofin for health and safety reasons.

“You need to rent a lane in a pool or find a diving club that lets you swim with a monofin – or practise in open water somewhere such as Brighton.

“I found a mermaid course with a free-diving place in Cornwall, which taught me to hold my breath, practise diving and lying at the bottom of a pool and helps you cope with the pressure of water.

“Then I went on a family holiday to Greece and really fell in love with it – the clear water means you can see all the fishes and the monofin gives you a good kick and you swim fast.

“Being underwater is somewhere without distractions; there’s no phone, no iPad, you can focus on your feelings and listen to your body.

“It gets me out of feeling stressed about work or anything else that’s going on.

“When you swim like a mermaid you feel all this happiness inside, like you’re in a fairytale. You can dress in all the sparkly outfits, tails and accessories, it’s really cool. Children think you’re a real mermaid so it’s really fun to play along.

“It’s also gets you really physically healthy. All the muscles from your abs all the way down are working hard and so it makes you strong and fit. “Friends and family think I’m crazy but they are happy I’m happy.

“I’m single, but if a man is fun and adventurous and into creative things, they will find it interesting and it will make me more attractive to them.

“Others think it’s childish and can’t understand why

I would do it. But I’m doing what I like and if

I enjoy it, it doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks.”