A former beauty queen who almost died during childbirth is hoping to raise £5,000 by swimming 20 miles for charity.

Kate Reeves, 25, suffered extreme high blood pressure, liver failure and temporarily lost her sight after her son Louis was born prematurely in May last year.

The psychotherapist and dance therapist, of Woodlands Way, Southwater, near Horsham, said raising money for the charity Action on Pre-eclampsia (Apec), which helps raise awareness about the condition which could have killed her and the baby, is her way of repaying the group for their support.

She said: "I was very ill throughout the pregnancy but I just put it down to normal pregnancy symptoms.

"Up to 33 weeks my blood pressure was fine then they took it and it was so high they couldn't believe it.

"I was hospitalised and put on a drip. Then my liver gave up and they told me I was going to die unless they delivered the baby in two hours."

Kate had a traumatic race against time to get to Chertsey Hospital, the nearest with a special unit to cope with her, and Louis was delivered by emergency Caesarean on May 22.

But far from getting better after the delivery, Kate rapidly went downhill as her blood pressure shot through the roof.

She said: "Afterwards, I didn't recover. I felt absolutely awful and couldn't move and couldn't see. I hadn't even seen my own son.

"On the fourth day after giving birth, my veins collapsed. My blood pressure was going up and up.

"I remained in hospital for about three weeks and then I spent another six months going back to the doctor every day to be monitored."

Kate, who was the last Miss Horsham in 1999, grew up believing she could never have children after being told she had three kidneys but a top specialist later told her there was no risk.

She was studying for her diploma in psychotherapy when she fell pregnant with Louis. After her terrifying experience with his birth, she decided not to have any more children because of the high risks and the fear it might happen again.

"I am sad not to be able to have more children but it would be terrifying to fall pregnant again.

"Louis was fine from the moment he was born. He was really healthy."

Kate first heard about Apec when she was still in hospital and one of the midwives handed her a leaflet.

It is because of the support they gave her that Kate decided to do the sponsored swim, which will involve her swimming ten miles on Christmas Eve and ten miles on Boxing Day.

"I love swimming and before all of this happened, swimming and dancing were my kind of sports. I didn't want to swim for a long time so it has been very significant for me to get fit and to actually have some control over my body again.

"This is something I can do and it means I can give something back to the charity."

The swim takes place at Bluecoats Sports Centre, Christ's Hospital, near Horsham. Anyone who is interested in sponsoring Kate can contact her on 01403 730952.