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When Rob Starr decided to swim the English Channel in memory of his father Edward, who had passed away from cancer, he knew he had set himself an enormous challenge.

The 21-mile swim through the freezing waters of one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes would be enough to daunt even someone at the peak of physical fitness.

However Rob had another hurdle to overcome – the 44-year-old businessman suffers from Crohn’s disease and assumed that the cold temperatures would exacerbate the crippling abdominal pains he regularly suffered. What he did not expect was that the icy seawater would actually relieve his agony.