THE English Channel beckons a Skipton woman to hopes to swim across it to help a cause close to her heart.

Kayleigh Davies, 29, will be taking to the water on Wednesday.

She was inspired to take on the swim by two of her father's friends who have been diagnosed with prostate cancer.

She will be raising money for Tackle Prostate Cancer through the swim and also through a call she is organising in Skipton later in the year.

Miss Davies said: "I am swimming the channel and organising a ball for Tackle Prostate Cancer because I have seen the effects of this disease. "Men are dying daily because they are not routinely checked by GPs for prostate cancer.

"I have personally seen the effects of this devastating disease as it has affected friends and family and believe that it is important that we do everything that we can to fight and 'tackle' the illness.

"I would swim all around the world to make a difference and help raise awareness."

Despite suffering from an autoimmune disorder herself, Miss Davies has been training daily for the last two years to undertake the swim of her life time.

It is anticipated swimming the Channel will take 17-20 hours to complete.

As a warm up she took part in the Lake Windermere 5k Race on June 10 and will also be taking part in the One Way Windermere on 2nd September 2.

Miss Davies is prone to chest infections and gets sick in the sea which makes this even more challenging. She will be doing further sponsored open water swims over the summer culminating in swimming the English Channel as part of a four-person relay team called North Yorkshire Dolphins on June 20 .

Accompanying her will be Adrian Hawley from Huddersfield, Mark Seddon from Ilkley and Zobair Hussain, also from Skipton.

Tackle Prostate Cancer is a patient-led charity addressing the real issues people face when they are diagnosed with prostate cancer, and helping people to cope with their diagnosis and treatment. As a National Federation, Tackle has 90 support groups across the country, representing some 15,000 members.

Roger Wotton chairman of Tackle Prostate Cancer says: "We know how devastating the diagnosis of prostate cancer can be. Raising awareness will hopefully see more men being tested earlier, and help accelerate a reduction in mortality figures. Prostate cancer doesn’t just affect the man diagnosed; it affects his whole family.

"This is a fantastic challenge Kayleigh has set herself. A true inspiration to others and she deserves all our support. Go girl!"

To sponsor Miss Davies' swimming challenge visit her fundraising page at:

http://www.justgiving.com/kayleigh-davies6?utm_id=124