I am swimming the English channel in mid-June to raise money for bowel disease research.

We plan to undertake a relay crossing between six of us. The distance across the channel represents a stretch of 35km of very cold water (even in June!) filled with jellyfish and shipping tankers.

One in fifteen of us will develop bowel cancer within our lives. This is one of a number of important bowel diseases that affect thousands of people every year. At our hospital - St Mark’s, a unique institution that specialises solely in the management of bowel disorders  (www.stmarkshospital.nhs.uk), much research is undertaken in an effort to beat such diseases. This is only possible thanks to the charitable funding brought about through events such as this.

I sincerely hope that you will support our attempt across the English channel by sponsoring me.