A HATTON swimmer battled against jellyfish stings and chilling temperatures to successfully complete his solo swim of the Channel last month.

Dave Feakes, aged 40, glided through the waters between Dover and Calais to finish this arduous physical challenge in an impressive time of 13 hours and 20 minutes.

A member of the Warrington Dolphins Long Distance Swimming Club, Dave arranged his watery quest through the Channel Swimming Association and follows past daredevil swimming attempts, including stroking across the Mersey estuary.

Dave left the white cliffs in the dark hours of the morning with a support boat to follow him right across to France and was fortunate enough to experience pleasant weather conditions as he ploughed through the currents.

Dave said: "It's pot luck where you come in because the tides can often drag you down the coast. When I got ashore, I grabbed a couple of pebbles from the beach and got back on the boat for England.

"I took the pace pretty steadily but was still knackered at the end. After three or four hours I started to feel quite cold and was stung by a jellyfish that unnerved me.

"I'm happy with my time but it's not something that I'll be repeating. A definite once in a lifetime experience. Dave currently works as a mechanical engineer, for United Utilities, and regularly competes in outdoor swimming events, including a 21-mile swim of Windermere.

He prepared for the 21-mile Channel swim with gruelling training regimes at Legh Street baths in Warrington and a pool in Northwich.

Dave's obsession with swimming challenges has taken him across the UK and the Warrington swimmer took part in an eight-mile event along Torbay, in Torquay.