A PE teacher living in Surbiton is set to take part in a gruelling 10k swim for charity after her boyfriend was diagnosed with a brain tumour.

Amy Edwards, 23, is taking part in the swim challenge for Brain Tumour Research and boyfriend Jon Felix, 25.

The pair live together in Surbiton and Jon, a mechanical engineer, said the diagnosis was “a huge shock because it was all unveiled within a day.”

Jon discovered he was ill unexpectedly after an eye appointment revealed swelling on his optic nerves.

He had been experiencing migraines and confusion.

He has since had a craniotomy to remove 50 per cent of the tumour, followed by six weeks of radiotherapy, and now chemotherapy, which is due to end in November.

Amy said: “I’m a netball player and horse rider but I’m not a big swimmer, which is why I thought I’d challenge myself to do something a bit different whilst raising as much money as I can.

“The challenge lets you choose from a 2.5km, 5km or 10km distance and I’ve chosen the longest but I’m going to try and do more if possible.

“I really want to swim as far as I can.

"There’s an open-air pool locally that I’m hoping to use and I’m also hoping to mix up my environments with an open water swim, too.”

Brain tumours cause more deaths in children and adults under 40 than any other cancer, but experiments in the area are grossly underfunded, receiving just one per cent of the national spend on cancer research.

Brain Tumour Research funds big groups of laboratory-based scientists at Centres of Excellence dedicated to combating the condition.

The charity is campaigning for a national annual spend of £35million, and are lobbying the government and larger cancer charities to invest more, in order to better understand and ultimately cure the disease.

Amy said: “I can’t believe how little funding brain tumour research gets.

"When my mum was diagnosed with breast cancer, I felt secure in the knowledge there was effective treatment because of the advances that had been in that area and I knew she’d be okay.

“I don’t feel like that about brain tumours because the little funding means there’s so much more research to be done.

“That’s why I want to raise as much as possible for Brain Tumour Research, to do the same with this disease as we have for breast cancer.”

Amy wants to raise at least £2,740, which is the equivalent of one day of funding at one of the charity’s trail blazing centres.

A spokesperson for the Brain Tumour Research charity said: “We were really saddened to learn about Jon’s diagnosis and wish him well with his ongoing treatment.

“Sadly, with one in three people knowing someone with a brain tumour, his story is not unique.

"We’re really grateful for Amy’s support and wish her the best of luck with her swim challenge.”