DETERMINED athlete Philippa Armstrong has overcome her fear of seaweed to swim the English Channel.

The 31-year-old former Westholme pupil developed the phobia as a young girl and is scared of anything brushing past her in the water.

The talented swimmer gritted her teeth and swam through her fear - as well as enduring sea-sickness and a seagull pecking at her feet.

And she joined the select band of cross-Channel swimmers when she completed the 21-mile swim in 16 hours and 24 minutes.

Philippa, now living in Bristol, said: "By the time I had been in the water for eight hours, I had hit my wall and my stroke rate had dropped.

"I was physically and emotionally exhausted and truly wondering what on earth I was doing there in the middle of the sea - was this supposed to be fun?"

In the support boat were her mum and stepdad, Alison and John Oxford, of Revidge Road, Blackburn.

As a proud parent, Alison could not believe her daughter had achieved such an incredible feat of endurance. She said: "She has never liked seaweed so had to be very determined to keep going through such deep sea as all sorts of things brushed past her.

"She has always been a good swimmer and from being very young and harboured an ambition to swim the Channel. She started training for it two years ago and then it all just spiralled very quickly and before we knew it we were bobbing up and down in the Channel."

Under rules set by an adjudicator, who was also aboard the support vessel, Philippa was not allowed to touch the boat or anyone on it at any point.

It meant she was forced to tread water as she took on energy drinks and was not allowed help during the five hours she was seasick. The rules also state the swimmer is only allowed one swimming costume, goggles and a cap.

Despite the odds, Philippa is adamant it was worth it after raised £3,500 for the charity Cancer Leukaemia in Childhood (CLIC) in the process.

She added: "The problem is that now there is a voice in my head that keeps on saying 'you could do that faster!'"

Anyone who would like to make a donation to the charity should visit their website at www.justgiving.com/pip-channelswim.