A MILVERTON mum is preparing to take on Oceans Seven, a series of channel swims that have only been completed by six people in their lifetimes.

And to make things even harder, Beth French is taking them all on in one year.

Her challenge will start in September next year, when she will be taking on the North Channel, the 22 mile crossing from Ireland to Scotland.

Beth, a single self-employed mum-of-one, said: "It is not just an endurance challenge. It is a logistics challenge as well."

However, she will not be alone.

Beth will be accompanied on her round-the-world expedition by her seven-year-old son, Dylan.

Dylan has Sensory Processing Disorder, so after he struggled to cope with school for two years, Beth decided it would be best for him to be home schooled.

"It defines his life, it does not limit it," Beth said of his disorder.

And Dylan is not the only one who has had his challenges.

When Beth was 17, she was in a wheelchair and at times bed-ridden, before being diagnosed with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME).

Although she now has no symptoms, it was a serious challenge getting her back to full strength, and she could suffer a relapse at any time.

After the Northern Channel challenge, Beth is then taking on the 20-mile Catalina Channel in USA, followed by the 26 mile swim across the Molokai Channel, Hawaii.

Dylan will not be her only friend in these swims, as the Northern Channel is known for the jellyfish that live there, and the Hawaiian strait for its dense and vast population of sharks.

Her challenge will then take her across the Cook Strait in New Zealand, the Strait of Gibraltar and theTsugaru Strait off Japan.

As she goes round, Beth will also be highlighting the environmental situation in these waters.

"I am a bit of an eco warrior," she added.

"I am going to be looking at marine ecology. The nature of channel swimming is changing so much.

"There is a pile of rubbish in the ocean the size of Texas. It is the largest man-made land mass in the world."

Her challenge will finish in August 2017 with a swim across the English Channel, a feat which she already accomplished in July 2012.

However, the effort comes with a serious financial cost.

Beth said: "It is a challenge I am taking knowing that it comes with a £70,000 price tag, and I am fronting all the deposits. It is £35,000 just for pilots and boats."

For more information on Beth and her seven oceans challenge, visit www.bethfrench.co.uk.