A FATHER whose extreme phobia of water meant he had never used his ne w bath and refused to go swimming has conquered his fear – with the help of a television show.

Neil Harget, 60, decided to go on Extreme Phobias, Extreme Cures after a failed attempt to go scuba diving at Chelmsford’s Riverside Leisure Centre.

The father-of-three of The Meads, Ingatestone, said: “I wa s fine with water when I was younger and I know that for most people there is normally at rigger, but over the last few years this just crept up and got worse and worse.

“It got so bad that, although we got a new bathroom put in three years ago, I’d never used the bath and used to have to reverse into the shower so I didn’t get water on my face.

“We have a place in Spain and I would pretend to be listening to music or be asleep when the kids asked me to go in the pool.

“So when I saw the show I wanted to give it a go–ten of us took part and we had to go on a canal boat, which didn’t bother me but freaked some of the others out, and then we were taken to the RNLI hub in Dorset.

“We had to jump 6ft into 12ft of water and climb into a dingy while the wave machince was on and there was thunder and lightning in their storm simulator.

“I do think it’s worked as I’ve been able to walk into the shower now, no qualms at all, and I’ve even had a bath in our new tub!

“I also dived straight into the pool at in Spain last time we went there, much to the family’s surprise.

It was a terrible belly flop but felt amazing.”

The episode of Extreme Phobias, Extreme Cures will be shown on Sky1 next Wednesday, at 8pm.

Do you have an unusual phobia? Let us know at @caustenhardy or charlotte.austen-hardy@nqe.com