A GRANDAD has returned from an expedition to the Arctic after raising £3,500 for research into global warming.

George Bradbury, 60, of Manchester Road, Barnoldswick, said the dog sledding trip to Norway was the "most amazing thing" he had ever done.

He travelled to Finmark, in the far north of Norway, with 18 other people to take part in the trek for the Scott Polar Research Institute.

The group travelled 200km through some of the most unforgiving terrain on traditional sledges hauled by teams of huskies.

Mr Bradbury spent the week-long trip looking after the dogs - a job he said he volunteered for because it meant he got out of cooking.

He said: "The dogs were the most interesting. They are the main factor in the trip and you tend to bond with them. They are built to run and this is all they want to do. Hearing 70 dogs barking and yelping, ready to go, is amazing.

"They are jumping and straining at the harnesses and when you let go of the brake they are away at 20km an hour immediately. It's exhilarating.

"Each sled has four dogs and you are treated as the fifth dog - you have to pull your weight. It was a trip of thrills and spills, but it was a good laugh," he added.

Mr Bradbury, a father-of-two and grandfather-of-three, was sponsored to take part in the trek by Pennine Telecom, in Bury, where he works as a communications manager. He also got donations from many of the firm's suppliers, as well as family and friends.

He said he had taken part because his regular skiing trips to Austria and France meant he had seen first-hand the problems of climate change.

"It is something that will affect all of us in the future and that's why I felt this was something I had to do", he said. "It was the most amazing thing I have ever done - the remoteness and silence was awesome, but it was cold.

"On the final day the temperature dropped to minus 34C. We had Arctic clothing, but if you had your glove off for five seconds you knew about it. Frost bite was a potential danger all the time."