INTREPID North Yorkshire Paramedic Tom Riley is aiming to enter the record books by rowing non-stop from Europe to South America.

Mr Riley, of Northallerton, is part of a four-man crew of Jim Davidson, a rowing coach from County Durham, bike mechanic Rob Lucas, of Sheffield, and Justin Coleman, of Leicestershire.

The friends will embark on the 3,800-mile journey from Portimao, on the south coast of Portugal, in December and will spend two months rowing in notoriously difficult conditions to Cayenne, the capital of French Guiana.

Mr Riley, who worked as a paramedic in Kendal before joining Yorkshire Ambulance Service in January 2020, said: “The idea of rowing across the Atlantic was planted some time ago and has been in the back of my mind for several years.

"Now is the time for that challenge to be realised." The crew are fundraising for Our Blue Light, which supports emergency services personnel with their mental health, and Surfers Against Sewage.

Mr Riley, a former pupil at Robert Wilkinson Primary Academy in Strensall and Huntington School in York, said: “Our Blue Light is a charity I’m really passionate about because I have seen how some of my colleagues struggle with their mental health and we also attend a lot of mental health calls.”

To support the crew's fundraising, find them via just giving.