Daring windsurfer narrowly misses out on world record

John Bedford set out from Donaghadee on Wednesday morning, and is pictured here during the challenge.

However, deteriorating weather as he approached Scotland forced him to abandon the attempt.

“At about 16 miles in, the wind was building up and the swells had reached three or four metres”, he said.

“I could feel my energy begin to fail and when I got to 18 miles I decided to call it a day.

“I had a time of just over one hour at that stage with just two miles to go and I think if I’d been able to go that last two miles I’d have comfortably broken the world record. I gave it a brave shot and thankfully I live to fight another day.”

John was raising money for Northern Irish charity the Adsum Foundation, which funds development and relief work in the developing world.