AN inspirational great-granddad-of-twelve from Port Sunlight is bidding to become the world's oldest scuba diver.

Ray Woolley spent his 94th birthday diving 38 metres underwater, in a bid to break the Guinness World Record as the world’s oldest scuba diver.

The record attempt at age 94 saw him spend 41 minutes at a maximum depth of 38.1 metres (125 feet) diving on the sunken wreck of the Zenobia, a Swedish-built cargo ferry that sunk on its maiden voyage in 1980 off the coast of Larnaca in Cyprus.

A British Sub Aqua Club (BSAC) advanced diver and advanced Instructor, he now faces a nervous wait of up to three months to see if his bid to become the world's oldest scuba diver is accepted by Guinness World Record officials.

The current record for the world’s oldest scuba diver is held by American Erwin Paul Staller who completed a dive of 36 minutes at a maximum depth of 15.8 metres (52 feet) at Grace Bay, Turks and Caicos on October 24, 2014 at the age of 93 years and 163 days.

Wirral Globe:

Ray during the dive that, he hopes, will earn him the Guinness record title of world's oldest scuba diver

Recalling the dive, Ray said: "The visibility was really good and I unfurled a banner on the wreck to celebrate the dive. It was quite a magical moment.

"And of course I enjoyed a glass of Champagne back on the boat after the dive in celebration.

"One has to wonder at some of the requirements but I got everything together and it’s all been sent off.

"They wanted a copy of my birth certificate, a written assessment by a qualified medical practitioner, two independent witness statements, documentary, video and photographic evidence, media articles, a cover letter, signed schedules and, bizarrely, a family tree reconstruction!

"I know everything has been done correctly and I’m confident there won’t be any issues and the new record will belong to me."

Wirral Globe:

Ray and daughter Lyn celebrate after world-record attempt

Originally from Port Sunlight, Ray now lives in Ayios Tychonas, close to Limassol, and first started diving 57 years ago in 1960 with the Portland and Weymouth BSAC branch.

He is used to diving challenges as ever since he turned 90 he has set himself targets. Last year he set out to complete a series of 39 dives to celebrate his 93rd birthday.

He said: "I decided to try and do 39 dives in my 93rd year – 39@93 – but got a little carried away and did 51 instead! I just kept going.

"I also went to a maximum depth of 45 metres. I also did 29 dives in my 92nd year and a 90 foot dive for my 90th birthday.

"My favourite places to dive in Cyprus are at Latchi but I also like Akrotiri and a couple of wrecks in Limassol.

"Although over the years I've had the pleasure of diving in some wonderful places such as Australia, the Caribbean, the Indian Ocean, the Red Sea, and the Arabian Gulf.

"There is nothing quite like seeing a wreck or a reef and knowing very few, if anyone, has seen what you are enjoying."

Ray added: "Of course I'm not finished yet! I swim for two hours a day as I believe staying as active as possible is really important.

"I do feel terribly sorry for those people my age who struggle a bit and may not be in the condition I'm lucky enough to be in."

Ray is a member of BSAC, the national governing body for scuba diving and has 120 dive centres up and down the country and abroad.

He served in the Royal Navy Radio Branch during the Second World War from September 1942, joining HMS Hyderabad in April 1943 for convoy duties from the UK to Gibraltar.

In September 1944 he was seconded to SBS Special Force 281 to the Dodecanese and was one of the first of the allied forces to land on Rhodes after the Germans left in 1945.

He later worked in communications as a radio engineer for the Foreign Office until he retired in 1983 aged 76.

After taking up diving in 1960, he was posted to Cyprus in 1964 where he dived regularly, returned to live permanently on the East Mediterranean Island after retiring in 1999.

Daughter Lyn Armitage, from Heswall, travelled out to Cyprus, where her dad now lives, to help celebrate his birthday and snorkeled on the surface so she could witness her dad’s record-breaking dive.

She said: "I was on the dive boat and as the visibility in the water was good, I was able to snorkel over the divers and saw them unfurl the record breaking banner at about 20 metres before I lost sight of them.

"My sister, brother and I are all very proud of dad as are his grandchildren and great grandchildren.

"He is such a positive person and so determined to remain active and fit.

"He is rightly proud of the fact he is still able to climb out of the water and back onto the dive boat with his cylinder on his back.”

She added: "Dad is so positive and I’m sure he will only give up diving when he has to.

"He is very safety conscious and when he feels it isn’t safe to dive any longer that’s when he will stop.

"But I have no doubt he will come up with a challenge to celebrate his 95th birthday with a new diving challenge.

"Watch this space!"

BSAC is the national governing body for scuba diving and has 120 dive centres up and down the country and abroad.

Its chief executive Mary Tetley said: "I'm thrilled to hear Ray has successfully completed his attempt to set what will hopefully be a new world record, as the world's oldest diver.

"Ray is, without doubt, a real inspiration.

"It's amazing to think he first dived 57 years ago and is still going strong. What a wonderful example of the benefits of keeping active and enjoying water sports and in particular scuba diving."