A MAN who was set to swim the English Channel for charity at the end of this month has fallen and broken his neck.

Andy Nation, of Deards End Lane in Knebworth, won the Charity Champion category of the Comet Community Awards two weeks ago for his continuous fundraising efforts for good causes.

He was due to start an epic 147-mile swim from Teddington to Calais on June 30, to raise money for the Herts MS Therapy Centre in Letchworth GC and the Herts Air Ambulance, but broke his neck last Tuesday in a fall in his garden.

After having a metal plate put in his neck and a bone transplant from his hip, Mr Nation has weakness in his arms and hands but is looking at a full recovery.

A spokesman for the Herts MS Therapy Centre said: “Andy is devastated. However, he is determined to do the swim at a later stage and says this is just a delay.”

Mr Nation will receive oxygen therapy and physiotherapy, if needed, from the Herts MS Therapy Centre.

The therapy centre’s spokesman explained: “Oxygen is the healing element in the atmosphere, and breathing 100 per cent oxygen under pressure allows extra oxygen to be absorbed into the tissue, which repairs the damaged tissue before it becomes scarred. It is scar tissue which prevents messages getting from the brain to the limbs.

“This treatment, along with physiotherapy, should help Andy on his way to a full recovery and have him back on track to complete the swim from Teddington to Calais as soon as his health allows.”

Mr Nation would like to acknowledge the skills and expertise of the medical team at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge that enabled him to be back at home within three days of his accident.

For full details about the charity swim, visit www.teddingtontocalais2012.org.uk Donations can also be made via the website.