A man raising awareness about sea pollution has become the first person to swim the entire length of the Channel after finishing his epic journey in Dover this afternoon.

Lewis Pugh completed the 350-mile venture at Shakespeare Beach shortly after 1.30pm after touching the harbour wall.

Moments after his historic swim he told Environment Secretary Michael Gove he has an "opportunity to lead" on the issue of cleaning up the world's oceans.

Record-setter's stark warning about our oceans

Watch Lewis Pugh complete his 350-mile swim in Dover

It is the culmination of a gruelling journey that began in Land's End on July 12.

The 48-year-old has been doing it to raise awareness about sea pollution and is following Channel Swimming Association rules by wearing just Speedo swimming trunks, a cap and goggles.

His aim is to finish the challenge within 50 days but that was put in doubt when stormy weather prevented him from rounding Dungeness on Sunday.

Follow our live blog below:

3.40pm:

Lewis had this message for the world: "Our oceans are in crisis and I'm urging the UK government to really take a strong leadership position on this issue. At the moment there is a vacuum in leadership on ocean issues. I think it's a position that the UK can naturally take."

3.36pm:

Lewis Pugh told KentOnline: "It has been such a long swim - 49 days. I was certainly worried when I got around to Dungeness about whether I could actually get around it. It was very bad weather. We have had storm after storm after storm and I felt sheer exhaustion as well."

2.26pm:

Environmental Secretary Michael Gove as he spoke to campaigners on the beach.

2.05pm:

Campaigners opposed to the dredging of the Goodwin Sands cornered Environment Secretary Michael Gove after he spoke to Lewis Pugh on the beach. The sands will be dug up as part of plans to expand the Dover Western Docks.

1.47pm:

Lewis being interviewed after landing in Dover.

1.41pm:

Lewis tells Environment Secretary Michael Gove he has an "opportunity to lead" on the issue of protecting the oceans as they stand together on Shakespeare Beach in Dover.

1.40pm:

Lewis is surrounded on the beach in Dover.

1.38pm:

Lewis as he swims to the beach after touching the harbour wall and completing his Channel swim.

1.35pm:

Lewis Pugh has completed his swim after touching the harbour wall.

1.17pm:

He is now taking the final few strokes towards the shore in Dover.

12:59pm:

A reminder of why Lewis Pugh is doing this swim. He is meeting Environment Secretary Michael Gove after he arrives in Dover.

12.34pm:

The love for Lewis Pugh is building on social media as he nears the end of his historic swim.

12.17pm:

Lewis has just dived into the water for the final stretch of his 350-mile swim.

11.52am:

He may be getting out of the water, but it looks like Lewis Pugh will remain very wet when he arrives at Shakespeare Beach. The forecast is for rain when he arrives - although the temperature will be a mild 16°C.

11.34am:

You'll be able to watch Lewis Pugh land at Shakespeare Beach in Dover through our Facebook Live broadcast on this page. So don't forget to watch at about 1.30pm.

11.28am:

Kent Wildlife Trust is also getting behind Lewis and his environmental message.

11.00am:

Lewis has been sent plenty of messages of support on Twitter.

10.39am:

Lewis is swimming because of the "horrifying" changes he has seen in the ocean over the last 30 years. He said: "I began swimming in vulnerable ecosystems to draw attention to the impact of our actions on our oceans. I saw enormous chunks of ice slide off Arctic glaciers. I swam over bleached coral killed by rising sea temperatures, and over the bones of whales hunted to the edge of extinction. I'm undertaking my toughest swim yet, so that I can call on the British Government, and all the governments of the world, to strengthen our ocean protection."

9.52am:

The highlight of the swim for Lewis: "I will never forget the people we met along the way, the literally hundreds of people from all walks of life who helped us and supported us and jumped in the sea to swim with us, just to be part of our mission, just for their love of the sea".

9.36am:

Lewis's favourite quote: "'Sometimes it falls upon a generation to be great, you can be that generation,' by Nelson Mandela".

9.08am:

Michael Gove, who's due to meet Lewis Pugh today... 'Lewis Pugh 'has shown inspirational leadership and grit'

9.04am:

Fact... The 560 km distance is equivalent to 16 English Channel crossings

8.42am:

Fact... In 1875, Captain Matthew Webb became the first person to swim from Dover to Calais. Since then, some 1,800 people have swum across the English Channel. But no-one has ever swum its entire length. Until now...

8.36am:

Here's more on the man of the moment:

TIMELINE

1969 - Born on December 5 in Plymouth, England.

1987 - Swims from Robben Island to Cape Town (7km), in three hours.

1990 - Reads Law and Politics at the University of Cape Town (five years).

1992 - Completes first swim across Lake Malawi (25km), in nine hours 52 minutes.

- Swims across the English Channel (35km), in 14 hours 50 minutes.

1994 - Completes first swim around Cape Agulhas, the most southerly point in Africa (10km), in four hours 15 minutes.

1999 - Reads a Master’s degree in International Law at Cambridge University.

2003 - Completes first swim around the North Cape, the most northerly point in Europe (5km), in one hour and four minutes.

2004 - Completes first swim around the Cape of Good Hope, South Africa (12km), in three hours 15 minutes.

- Completes first staged swim around the Cape Peninsula (100km) from the Waterfront to Muizenberg, in 13 days.

- Breaks record for fastest swim around Robben Island (10km), in three hours 42 minutes.

- Completes first swim down Norway’s Sognefjord, the longest unfrozen fjord in the world (204km), in 21 days.

2005 - Completes the world’s most northerly long-distance swim across Magdalenefjord, Spitsbergen. The 1km swim, in 3°C water, takes 21 minutes.

- 12 hours later, breaks that record with a 1km swim, in 3°C water, around Verlegenhuken, Spitsbergen, in 20 minutes and 30 seconds.

- Completes the most southerly long-distance swim at Petermann Island, Antarctica. The 1km swim, in 0°C water, takes 18 minutes.

- Completes a 1.6km swim across Whaler’s Bay in Deception Island, South Shetland Islands. The swim takes 30 minutes and 30 seconds.

2006 - Swims across Nelson Mandela Bay in South Africa (16km), in four hours 57 minutes.

- Completes first swim from Manly Beach through the Sydney Heads to the Sydney Opera House (16km), in 6 hours 1 minute.

- Becomes the first person to complete the ‘Holy Grail of Swimming’ – a long-distance swim in every ocean of the world (Atlantic, Arctic, Southern, Indian and Pacific).

- Wins gold medal in the 500m freestyle at the World Winter Swimming Championships in Finland.

- Breaks world record for longest swim in ice water (just above 0°C) – 1,250m in Nigards Glacier Lake, Norway.

- During a severe drought, completes the first swim down the River Thames (350km), in 21 days, to highlight the impact of climate change.

- Appointed to the Council of Ambassadors of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) in the UK.

2007 - Completes first swim across the width of the low-lying Maldive Islands (140km), in 10 days, to draw attention to the impact of rising sea levels.

- Completes first swim across the North Pole to highlight the impact of melting sea ice. The 1km swim, in water measuring minus 1.7°C, takes 18 minutes and 50 seconds.

2010 - Completes first swim on Mount Everest, in a glacial lake, to highlight the melting of the glaciers in the Himalayas. The 1km swim, at an altitude of 5,200m, takes 22 minutes and 51 seconds.

- Appointed a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum.

2013 - Appointed “Patron of the Oceans” by the United Nations Environment Programme.

- Inducted into the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame.

2014 - Completes seven consecutive swims in the ancient Seven Seas of the world (Mediterranean, Adriatic, Aegean, Black, Red, Arabian and North) to urge surrounding nations to create more Marine Protected Areas.

2015 - Voted National Geographic Adventurer of the Year.

- Undertakes a series of swims off Antarctica to campaign for a Marine Protected Area in the Ross Sea.

- Completes the most southern swim in the world in the Bay of Whales, Antarctica. The 330m swim, in water measuring minus 1° and minus 37° air temperature, takes 5 minutes to complete.

- Works to break the political deadlock in CCAMLR (Commission for the Conservation for Antarctic Marine Living Resources) over the creation of Marine Protected Areas in Antarctica with visits to policy makers in Moscow, London and Washington.

- Awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Science from the University of Plymouth.

8.33am:

Asked why he doesn't swim in a wetsuit, Lewis said: "I ask world leaders to do everything they can to protect our environment. However, sometimes the legislation I ask them to enact is unpopular with the electorate. If I am asking them to be courageous, I must also be. Swimming in a wetsuit or a drysuit would not send the right message. So I swim according to Channel Swimming Rules - i.e. in just a Speedo swimming costume."

8.19am:

8.00am:

Lewis hopes the arduous journey will help bring together governments to work on protecting the ocean.

Speaking before he took off he said: “I'm undertaking my toughest swim yet, so that I can call on the British Government, and all the governments of the world, to strengthen our ocean protection. Because doing the right thing has to start at home. "

7.27am:

Here's Lewis's arduous route:

6.45am:

6am: