THREE friends from Wirral each completed a solo swim across the English Channel this summer, raising more than £20,00 for charities close to home.

Dave Loughlin, Steve McHugh and Martin Pritchard-Howarth, all members of Mersey Triathlon, trained noon and night to raise cash by swimming the English Channel.

Steve was the first man from Wirral to complete the swim in 17 hours and 28 minutes while raising £10,000 for charity including the Paul Lavelle Foundation which was set up in Steve's friend Paul's memory after he was killed by his girlfriend Sarah Lewis when she attacked him with a broken dinner plate in May last year.

The foundation aims to raise awareness of domestic abuse against men.

So far Steve has raised £6,676.25 from the swim.

Martin completed his swim for CALM, Samaritan's and Team Rubicon as part of a number of challenges he has been completing throughout the year in memory of his brother Dave who took his own life in 1997.

Last week, Martin took part in the Druid Challenge Ultra Run which is a three-day-long ultra marathon and has so far raised £17,066.65 for his chosen charities.

Dave was the last of the three pals to embark on the challenge.

Raising more than £4,000 for Claire House, Dave finished the swim in 14 hours and 40 minutes.

He told the Globe: "We all know each other very well and have done different events together. We all had the Channel swim in our minds to do. All of our swims were solo, just alone in the water with no rest or outside help, you can do relays with up to 4 people taking turns in the water but we all decided to do the solo swim.

"We trained in the winter at Total Fitness in Prenton, then went to a swim camp in Lanzarote. Then when the weather got warmer here, we were able to train at Queens Dock in Liverpool and in West Kirby. The main issue was trying to stay motivated in the water as it can get very boring just swimming around. The support crew kept us motivated and interested in what was happening on the boat and messages of support from loved ones.

"I had trained with music but during the challenge, I wasn't allowed to have it.

"They were very strict during the swim. You couldn't touch the boat or anyone else nearby - each swimmer has one pilot boat each and the swimmers job is to follow that boat.

"The pilot’s job is to navigate to France, following the tides and protecting the swimmer from other ships.

"You're not allowed to touch the boat at any point during the swim and rules are very strict, once we got to France so I had to get out the water unaided, stand on land then get back into the water and swim to the boat to go back home as we hadn't been through passport control.

"I only completed this down to the support of the crew. They threw out protein bars and snacks for energy. I had plenty of Jelly Babies and Jaffa Cakes - I couldn't stop swimming, I had to carry on.

"The direct distance is 21 miles but with the tide moving us up and down we each definitely swam more than 30 miles. We also couldn't see much in the water as visibility is only around 1m we did all get stung by jellyfish on our hands, legs and face though!

"I want to say a massive thanks to everyone who has donated. It's unbelievable that all three Channel swims were from Wirral and all three swims were successful."

To donate and for more information visit https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-display/showROFundraiserPage?userUrl=SteveMcHugh2&pageUrl=1 , https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/MartinPritchardHowarth or https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/locky-locky