Amputee veteran to row solo across the Atlantic

  • Anglia
Going solo: Paddy Gallagher in training for another record-breaking row Credit: ITV News Anglia

A former soldier from Cambridgeshire is in training to try and become the first amputee to row solo across the Atlantic Ocean.

It's a stretch of water that Paddy Gallagher's familiar with - he only got back from a record-breaking Atlantic crossing earlier this year.

When Paddy got back in February, he told ITV News Anglia he wasn't sure what his next challenge would be.

Now, he's decided he's going back to the Atlantic and, this time, he's going solo.

Paddy's North Atlantic crossing will take him about 2 months and he will be rowing for up to 18 hours a day.

Paddy stepped on a bomb in Afghanistan in 2009 and lost his leg below the knee Credit: Paddy Gallagher

This challenge will take Paddy back to his roots.

His journey will start off the coast of Canada and finish on Achill Island, in Ireland, where he grew up.

He's recreating a voyage by the famous Ocean Rower, Don Allum - the first man to row across the Atlantic solo, in both directions.

Paddy sitting in Don Allum's boat as a boy, alongside his father and brother Credit: Paddy Gallagher

Paddy is hoping to raise £30,000 for The Irish Guards Benevolent Fund.

He's planning to set off when the weather is right next summer.

You can keep up to date with his journey here.