Hollywood superstar Keira Knightley floats in front of an underwater moon as part of a Sussex photographer’s crusade to help save the lives of thousands of children.

The actress unlocked a secret talent of being able to hold her breath “forever” as part of Candice Farmer’s campaign to highlight the number of children who die from drinking dirty water.

Ms Farmer, of Hadlow Down, near Uckfield, said: “She’s the consummate professional in everything she does.”

The Sussex snapper also transformed Kelly Brook into a half woman half fish beauty as part of the shoot.

And Ms Farmer convinced A-list Hollywood stars Will Smith, Megan Fox and Zac Efron, supermodels Lily Cole and Kimberly Stewart, Olympic swimmer Rebecca Adlington and singer Natalie Imbruglia to take the plunge.

The photographer cashed in on her bulging contacts book from years working on magazines including GQ and Harpers & Queen to get the celebrities on board to help the charity she set up after discovering 1.1 billion people worldwide do not have access to clean water.

Underwater environment

She said: “Dirty water kills 5,000 children a day. To me, that’s just not acceptable. I think every person in the world has a right to clean water.

“I just told them that 5,000 children a day were dying and asked them to help.

“As soon as they heard about it they wanted to take part.

“I work within their capabilities to make the subjects of my photos feel happy and comfortable in an underwater environment and generally work with a really good crew.

“We make them feel comfortable and confident in that atmosphere and they become really relaxed and get a beautiful relaxed appearance in this environment.”

Ms Farmer said every subject had been different but one of her favourite underwater shoots was with world famous DJ Judge Jules spinning records at the bottom of a swimming pool while a crowd of clubbers kept the party going above the water.

See the latest news headlines from The Argus:

More news from The Argus

Follow @brightonargus

The Argus: Daily Echo on Facebook - facebook.com/southerndailyecho Like us on Facebook

The Argus: Google+ Add us to your circles on Google+