Football legend Graeme Souness has a million reasons to take the plunge tomorrow for Black Isle epidermolysis bullosa (EB) sufferer Isla Grist (14)

THE plight of a brave Black Isle teenager living with a cruel condition has touched hearts around the world ahead of a football legend's epic fundraising effort.

Isla Grist (14), a pupil at Fortrose Academy, suffers from epidermolysis bullosa (EB), an incredibly painful skin blistering condition more commonly known as ‘butterfly skin’, due to the patient’s skin being as fragile as a butterfly’s wing.

Graeme Souness (70) is aiming to swim the English Channel tomorrow to raise £1.1m to fund drug testing to stop the pain of epidermolysis bullosa (EB).

Souness has spoken emotionally of the suffering with which Isla has to put up on a daily basis as the driving force for a challenge which is miles outwith his comfort zone.

Souness, known for his no-nonsense style of play on the football field, and subsequently as a manager and TV pundit, will be taking on his biggest challenge when he takes the plunge with a small team that includes Isla's dad, Andy.

In the build-up to tomorrow's planned channel crossing, he said: "Now I’m not one to walk away from a challenge but this is all new to me; despite living by the sea for the past 16 years, I’ve never been in it, and Isla is the only reason I did.

"Alongside Isla’s dad, Andy, and the rest of the team, I am determined to complete the Channel crossing, to raise awareness of EB, and to raise the funds that DEBRA so desperately needs. Please support me, every pound raised gets us one step closer to a world where no one suffers with the pain of EB”.

He's raising the cash for Debra, the butterly skin charity, and as of today was closing in on the £1m mark before gift aid is factored in.

To sponsor him on his effort, see here.

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