A 47-year-old man from Lancashire has completed an 85-day challenge to paddle his kayak 1,700 miles (2,736km) around the British Isles for charity.
Eric Innes, from Kirkham, landed at Blackpool lifeboat station at 1530 BST after finishing his mammoth paddle, which began on 6 June. So far his journey has raised over £16,000 for the Help the Heroes charity for injured soldiers. He said he decided to kayak for charity “as everyone seems to do marathons”. “One of the lasting memories I have of my journey is the scenery and coastlines, and the wonderful generosity and kindness of the people who have helped me along the way,” Mr Innes said. He was inspired to undertake the challenge after watching his son being awarded a medal after he returned from a tour of Afghanistan. “See those who had lost limbs, life-changing injuries, I wanted to do something to help them,” he said.
Mr Innes has kayaked every day – sometimes for as long as 12 hours – since setting off on his round Britain journey from Blackpool on 6 June.