Jelly beans and peaches to fuel Channel swim teen

Lowenna said she will eat sweets on the swim as well as tinned peaches

Mental strength, tinned peaches and jelly beans are the key to swimming the English Channel, according to a Cornish teenager who is aiming to complete the feat on Saturday.

Lowenna North, 17, from Launceston, is already the youngest person to complete the 14-mile (22.5km) swim from the Eddystone Lighthouse to Plymouth Hoe - a challenge she completed at 15 years old.

Now, she is taking on the 20.5 mile (33 km) cross-Channel swim from England to France.

Lowenna, who goes by the nickname The Ginger Swimmer, said she would not "stop until she gets there".

Lowenna spent the summer building up her endurance with six-hour training swims covering up to nine miles (15km)

As well as drinking carbohydrate powder mixed with hot squash, Lowenna said she would eat "jelly beans, Jelly Babies and Wine Gums", while tinned peaches were also essential during the crossing.

"The nutrition side of it is very important, keeping energy up, keeping your sugar levels up," she said.

Lowenna, who hopes to complete the crossing from Dover to Calais in 14 to 16 hours, said "mental strength" was also important for those taking on endurance swims.

Lowenna said she had set her heart on swimming the Channel at 12 years old.

She has spent the summer building up her endurance, culminating in training swims of up to six hours and covering up to nine miles (15km).

She said she was expecting "challenging conditions" and rough weather for her swim, which was due to start from Dover at 05:00 BST on Saturday.

Her father, James North, said he would be part of her support team which included coaches and physios as well as "people just talking to her and keeping her going".