A FORMER weather presenter will be hoping for calm conditions when she and her friends attempt to swim the Channel in memory of her mother.

Georgie Sollom, 41, is taking up the challenge to raise money for St Raphael’s Hospice in North Cheam.

Mrs Sollom’s mother, Alison Palmer, was cared for at the hospice, when she died of breast cancer, aged 72, last August.

Mrs Sollom will be tackling the 36km swim in a relay with five friends and while the challenge is scheduled for June 30, unpredictable weather conditions mean it could take place on any date between June 28 and July 2.

She said: “Swimming the English Channel, for me, seems the very best way I can raise money for St Raphael’s in memory of Mum.

“It will be a huge comfort knowing she will be watching over me and with me every stroke of the way.

“She also loved going to France so it seems like a very apt journey.”

Mrs Palmer, who lived in St John’s Road, Wimbledon Village, was a Wimbledon resident for more than 40 years.

An active member of the local community, she worked in the breast cancer screening unit at St George’s Hospital.

She was also chairwoman of the Friends of Atkinson Street Morley, now part of St George’s, and volunteered for many years at the Wimbledon museum.

Born and raised in Wimbledon, Mrs Sollom now lives in Winchester, where she works as a freelance broadcast journalist.

She said: “I will be eternally grateful for the wonderful, tender care and kindness shown to her by all the staff.”

A former BBC weather presenter, Mrs Sollom has been a keen swimmer her whole life. She has been preparing for the 14 C temperatures she will encounter in the Channel by training in a lake.

The team will take turns to swim for an hour at a time, setting out at 2am, with five hour breaks.

Each team member will swim approximately 6km, with the crossing taking a minimum of 12 hours.

So far she has managed to raise more than £2,300 towards the hospice, already surpassing her target of £2,000 To sponsor her visit uk.virginmoneygiving.com and search George Sollom.