France set to stop British adventurer from swimming across English Channel

French maritime authorities are considering banning a former British paratrooper from swimming across the Channel in a remarkable endurance challenge.

Karl Bushby, 57, has spent nearly three decades walking home from Chile, departing in 1998 to return to his hometown of Hull, East Yorkshire, without using any form of motorised transport.

After covering 36,000 miles across multiple continents, Mr Bushby reached as far as Belgium, leaving the English Channel as the final barrier before he completes his 28-year expedition.

Earlier this year, the adventurer's plan to walk through the Eurotunnel service tunnel was rejected, with operators citing safety and operational concerns when declining his request.

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Now hoping to swim from France to England in October supported by an escort vessel, French maritime authorities have warned that current regulations only permit Channel swims departing from the UK and finishing on the French coast.

The French Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre confirmed that a 2018 prefectural order governs Channel swimming attempts and said Mr Bushby’s support team has been referred to the Channel and North Sea Maritime Prefecture, which will consider whether an exception can be granted.

"We are talking with the French coastguard," Mr Bushby said, "we hope an exception to the rule can be made."

The threat to Mr Bushby's journey comes with some irony after France was accused of failing to stop the more than 200,000 small boat migrants who have crossed the Channel since 2018.

GB News exclusively revealed that more than 10,000 migrants have crossed the Channel this year alone, with french authorities claiming they had intercepted two-thirds of all attempted migrant crossings.

Recent footage shared with GB News depicted the French Navy handing life jackets to small-boat migrants as they crossed the English Channel.

Dozens of migrants clad in bright orange flotation devices were captured on video as a French boat floated alongside, seen hurling life jackets to migrants whose hands were outstretched to catch them.

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Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp echoed longstanding concerns that the Government's payments to France were ineffective, accusing ministers of handing over huge sums of money “without performance conditions”.

Despite the unfairness and uncertainty, preparations for Mr Bushby's swim continue in optimism, with a support boat already secured for October.

He estimates the crossing could take between two and three days, depending on conditions, and that "the weather is also a big factor - for a successful attempt, you need a window of good weather."

Mr Bushby is currently in Mexico, where he retires between stages of his expedition to comply with visa requirements, recover and plan future routes.

He expects to return to Belgium in early September, before travelling to France later that month to prepare for the crossing.

While disappointed by Eurotunnel's decision, Mr Bushby said he has not given up hope that permission to use the service tunnel could still be granted.

"I am not angry it has come to this. I am more disappointed," he said, "walking through the service tunnel is still the preferred option."

The traveller has overcome equally tough obstacles throughout his journey, including becoming the first Briton to cross the frozen Bering Strait on foot in 2006, and completing a 300-kilometre swim across the Caspian Sea in 2024 to avoid travelling through Russia or Iran.

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