Cramlington paramedic on being part of Ernest Shackleton's shipwreck discovery team

• Presenter Amy Lea speaks to Wayne Auton from the middle of the South Atlantic Ocean

Wayne Auton from Cramlington has been speaking about his time on the expedition to find Sir Ernest Shackleton's famous ship Endurance, 107 years after it was lost to sea in Antarctica.

In his role as the team's paramedic and field guide, Wayne makes sure the health of the team is stable when venturing into the extreme conditions of the region.

The Endurance22 team, including TV historian Dan Snow, set off with the sole mission to find the ship which had not been seen since it went down in the Weddell Sea in 1915.

The expedition set off from Cape Town in February, a month after the 100th anniversary of Sir Ernest’s death. Weeks later, as the journey was coming to a close and almost all hope was lost, the incredible discovery was made on 5 March 2022.

Wayne said: "The relief and the joy was huge. We were coming to the end of our period down here, it was kind of Hollywood movie style finding it at the last minute. We only had about four or five days left before we had to leave the ice back for Cape Town. It was a huge relief, everyone was super excited. Buzzing."

Despite the signal struggles that come with being at sea, Wayne manages to keep connected by posting updates on social media of the incredible sights and things he's experienced on the journey.

He added: "I was hoping to see penguins but there was penguins everywhere! Emperor penguins, King penguins, Adelie penguins, so I had nothing to worry about!"

It is not all cute animals and amazing scenery though, when the temperature drops in Antarctica it can get dangerous.

Wayne said: "I think the coldest temperature was around about -28°C. You had to be really careful minding your fingers, your toes, things like that."