AN ENVIRONMENTAL campaigner preparing to take on a non-stop swim around the Isle of Wight has set his sights on a new world record.

Oly Rush, from Upton, is attempting the 65-mile challenge after swimming the length of the Jurassic Coast last year.

The 36-year-old plasterer hopes to tackle the swim at the end of August, weather permitting, to raise funds for charities working to clear the coast of plastic pollution.

Only four other swimmers have successfully circumnavigated the Isle of Wight, with the quickest setting a record of 26-hours.

Oly, who raised £10,000 for charity during his 2020 Jurassic Coast swim, hopes to get the job done in the fastest time yet.

"Sub 26-hours is what I am aiming for, but it would be nice to do it in under 24," he said. "Who knows - the ocean is going to decide.

"I chose the Isle of Wight because last year when I completed the Jurassic Coast swim, a friend of mine pointed at it and said 'you'll be swimming around the Isle of Wight next.'

"He meant it as a joke but I think it planted a seed.

"I hope such a big swim will make people think about the damage being caused to the ocean and the planet as a whole by the way we live our lives - it is a convenient lifestyle for us but the most inconvenient lifestyle for every other creature.

"It is also to raise awareness about the way we treat our oceans because the amount of plastic we throw into them every day is scary."

He will take the plunge at Seaview, near Ryde on the island, and spend the next day and night in the water.

Oly said: "In the last five years I have developed quite an efficient stroke, which is 45 strokes per minute compared to most swimmers who are 55 per minute.

"I just seem to keep going like a diesel engine - but without the pollution.

"I love the ocean - it's so therapeutic. No matter how much you have to think about, you just seem to lose yourself in the sound of the waves."

Scott Dawson, who set the current record in 2016, put a team together to help Oly train and accompany him during the challenge.

They will follow him in six kayaks, a safety RIB and the private yacht of British yachtsman Brian Thompson, who twice broke the speed record for sailing around the world.

Oly will swim for long stretches of the night unable to see ahead in the pitch blackness.

He said: "I would be lying if I said I wasn't a little nervous about the night section, especially if I hit something like a jellyfish in the water, but it's an adventure.

"On the Jurassic Coast swim, I hit a buoy and it almost gave me a heart attack."

So far he has received over £1,160 out of a target £5,000 but hopes to double that amount.

Visit: www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/plasticfight?utm_term=pVa2QggAp to support him on his adventure.