LEDBURY residents hoisted sail for an offshore yachting marathon, and all to raise funds for The Children's Society.

The crew of four keen sailors, all from Ledbury and including a local GP, recently decided to tackle the South West's largest charity sailing race, "to raise money for vulnerable children and highlight the charity’s vital work".

Team skipper, Keith Pringle said: "As the hot sun rose across the calm Plymouth Sound, we prepared the 37ft yacht ‘Dream Chaser’ for our first offshore race.

"Plymouth’s unique nautical marathon known as The Eddystone Pursuit attracts hundreds of sailors every year, keen to raise hundreds of pounds for charities who ‘benefit the human condition’, and the crew of the Dream Chaser were determined to do just that."

Mr Pringle added: "We hoped to complete our first marathon in under five hours, but unexpectedly calm conditions meant Dream Chaser finally finished after a gruelling 7 hours 30 minutes.

“With an average of 4 to 6 knots of true wind, it was a very long, hot day! But we were pleased to finish and get ranked 32 out of 68 – not bad considering the very difficult sailing conditions. The most important part was raising £240 for The Children’s Society, which tipped our fundraising total over £1,600. We had a great, memorable day, and are so grateful to everyone who supported our crew."

The Ledbury team consisted of Keith Pringle, Dave Abbott Dr Martin Crook and Ken Webster.

Dr Crook, a local GP in Ledbury, said he was pleased to be a part of the event, and to spread the charity’s message.

Dr Crook said: “It was a fantastic experience. We were a novice crew, sailing together for the first time, but we did very well considering the conditions. It was pretty warm in our black t-shirts, but everybody we met was really pleased that we had taken part. When people noticed The Children’s Society’s name, lots of people said how great it was that we were sponsoring such a great cause.”

Roseann Thompson, Regional Fundraising Manager for The Children’s Society in the Midlands said she was delighted to work alongside supporters like the Dream Chasers.

She said: “The Dream Chaser crew, and everyone at the Ledbury Committee are an absolutely wonderful bunch, and their many years of faithful voluntary service, physical challenges and fundraising have made such a difference to children’s lives. The crew of Dream Chaser should be really proud of themselves."

The Children’s Society works directly with thousands of vulnerable children and young people across a variety of projects, including youth-at-risk services, support for young refugees, and help for young people who run away from home. In the Midlands, the charity supported 1,296 young people through 15 services last year, and achieved 22 policy changes to improve the lives of children in the region.