Jellyfish won’t stop cross channel attempt

GIANT jellyfish glowing eerily purple and trailing massive tentacles are proving to be an unexpected challenge for a father and his pals facing a unique English Channel swim early next month.

All of the eight team members aiming to raise funds for Temple Street Hospital’s renal unit have been stung during practice swims by the Portuguese Man-o-War jellyfish that have swarmed into the waters on Ireland’s east coast.

Kevin Prendergast, who gave his son, Gavin, 14 a life-saving kidney in 1997, had to cry off from swimming practice last weekend and spend the rest of the day in a warm bath at home in a bid to ease the pain of stings that covered most of his body.