Dad to swim 10 lakes to highlight son's condition

Neil Gilson aims to swim across 10 of the largest lakes in Switzerland to raise awareness for conditions PANS and PANDAS

A father-of-three aims to swim 10 of the largest lakes in Switzerland to raise awareness for a condition his son was diagnosed with at 18 months old.

Ultra marathon swimmer Neil Gilson, from Ilfracombe, Devon, hopes to "make history" with his Legends of Lakes challenge and become the first person to officially complete an endurance swim covering 369km (330 miles).

The Lakes include Lugano, Constance, Neuchatel, Biel, Maggiore, Zug, Lucerne, Zurich, Thun and Leman.

Mr Gilson, 39, said his son has Paediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal Infections (PANDAS), which causes sudden onset aggression, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and tics overnight.

Neil Gilson said the conditions of a lake were unpredictable

Mr Gilson said his son Jack was now nine years old and while he still lives with the effects of PANDAS, he was "symptom free".

"You wouldn't know he had this condition," he said.

"He's at school, thriving in all his work and he's super sporty."

Neil Gilson plans to swim 10 lakes within two years for charity

Mr Gilson said he had already completed Lakes Lugano and Constance in June 2025 in just two days.

"It's harder to predict than when you swim in the sea, because in the sea you have tides but in a lake you get random currents."

In 2023, Mr Gilson said his attempt to swim Lake Geneva was stopped when the temperature plummeted to about 6C (43F) and he got hypothermia.

He said: "I got so close I had to go back and do it again the following year.

"I currently hold the Guinness World Record for Lake Geneva already so on my final swim my aim is to try and break it.

"My main aim is to finish these 10 lakes and anything that comes with it is a bonus."

Neil Gilson said his family thought he was crazy for taking on this challenge

He said his family have described him as crazy for taking on this challenge but were also fully supportive.

Mr Gilson added: "They understand the importance of putting the message out there and raising awareness of the condition, because if somebody didn't do that for us then we wouldn't have managed to get the diagnosis for Jack.

"It's so important for me to let other parents going through what we did know that this is a treatable condition, and in many cases treatment can be surprisingly straightforward.

"It's more common than people realise, and I truly hope this swim helps improve the lives of others affected."

While the challenge is about raising awareness, he is also raising money for the Pans Panda UK and The Brain Charity.