Five Halstead swimming club members taking on the channel

They will take on one of the greatest swimming challenges by swimming 21 miles from Dover to Calais in the world’s busiest shipping lane.

Danni Rulton and Sam Johnston who are senior captains, will be accompanied by Kai Adams, Ellie Johnson and coach Lewis Archer.

Smiles - The members of Halstead swimming club are ready to take on the daunting task (Image: Credited)

The young people who are now in their 20’s, have trained alongside each other for more than 15 years, competing with and against each other.

Danni Rulton said: “The swim is a challenge that we have all been wanting to do for a long time.

“As excited as we are, it is also incredibly daunting when we think about everything that we might come across from jellyfish to some of the largest cargo ships in the world.

Cold - The five swimmers taking on the channel, having a training swim in the sea (Image: Credited)

“We won’t know what time we are swimming until the evening before so we could even be swimming in total darkness.”

Swimming the channel will be unchartered territory for most of the group and will require a new level of training and dedication.

One member of the group, Kai Adams has completed the swim before back in 2012 with a different group from the swimming club.

The team have been working hard to prepare for the swim but it has been tough as the group all work full time and have been trying to fit in the training.

The group are being supported by their head coach John Lowe and senior coach Paddy Keeble.

Determined - Two of the swimmers from Halstead tackling the sea (Image: Credited)

They are also being guided by the care of their ex-head coach Roger Wade.

Roger has been alongside the team in his kayak, putting them through their paces, whether in the sea or at the local open water venue, Gosfield lake.

In late November, the team tried their first swim in Gosfield lake, that saw the team take on the cold water which was sitting at around four degrees.

They conduct two open water swims a week on top of their five weekly pool swims in preparation.

The team remain in good spirits and understand the great cause they are doing this for.

The swim will raise money and awareness of Child Bereavement UK.

Danni added: “It is taking a lot of hard work for us to be in the position to reach the French coast including quite literal blood, sweat and tears.

“But it will be more than worth it when we reach the other side, especially as we are doing it in aid of such an important charity.” 

Each year there are 46,000 children up to the age of 17 who lose a parent each year, equating to 127 children per day.

Child bereavement UK provides essential support services to families through one of the most difficult moments of their lives, during a very vulnerable time.

They aim to help families rebuild their lives and donations to this cause can help continue their brilliant support.

Last year, Danni approached the team and said that she wanted to do the swim and raise money for the charity.

This is a charity that is close to Danni's heart, who sadly lost her mother when she was just 15.

This is something that the group have wanted to do from a young age after being inspired by previous groups from the club who have completed it.

They have set up a just giving page making it easy for people to donate and support the group on their fantastic mission.

You can donate here - Crowdfunding to raise money for child bereavement uk on JustGiving