TWO friends who have traversed the north of England from west to east by kayak have raised thousands of pounds for Cancer Support Yorkshire.

Andrew Lambert and Andrew Wellock paddled more than 160 miles between Liverpool and Goole by canal and raised around £8,000 for the charity - including around £400 from a special evening at Skipton's Woolly Sheep pub.

The pair arrived at the town's Belmont Wharf on the fourth day of their eight-day journey after paddling 27 miles from their previous stop in Burnley.

On this leg they were among the first people in a two-man kayak to legally travel through the mile-long Foulridge Tunnel, soon after it was opened to unpowered craft by the Canal And River Trust.

With the two Andrews, both of Ilkley, drinkers and diners at the Woolly Sheep were invited to 'match up' beers and foods in a taster session amid an entire evening of entertainment devised by the pub's manager Andrew Goodall.

The next day the kayak pair left on the next leg of their journey to Leeds, the longest stage of their journey at 31 miles.

And after a total distance of 164 miles, 55 hours in the kayak and, they reckon, around 35,000 calories burned, the pair arrived in Goole. They were supported along the entire journey by David Waterhouse, and other friends joined them for sections of the route.

Andrew Lambert said: “We have been very lucky in how people have gone our of their way to help us and our long day paddling to Leeds was no exception. We arrived at Shipley very tired but found two friends of ours, Bernie Connor and Tim Heaton, had turned out on bikes to help us.

"They followed us on the towpath and then lifted the boat around each lock for us - more than twenty locks - all the way to Leeds and even then helped port it to the start of the Aire and Calder. We would certainly have struggled without their help."

The charity is particularly close to the heart of Andrew Wellock, who is recovering following treatments for cancer. He thanked Andrew Goodall at the Woolly Sheep and Timothy Taylor's Brewery for "a superb evening and their hard work in making it such a brilliant event."

Their full itinerary was: Sunday, Liverpool-Newburgh, 27 miles; Monday, Newburgh-Chorley, 22 miles; Tuesday, Chorley-Burnley, 24 miles; Wednesday, Burnley-Skipton, 26 miles; Thursday, Skipton-Leeds, 31 miles; Friday, Leeds-Castleford, 16 miles; Saturday, Castleford-Goole, 17 miles.

Go to the Craven Herald website for links to the full story of the journey.

To make a donation visit the Just Giving page: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Andrew-Lambert9