CANOEIST Mike Purchas is recovering this week after taking part in his eighth and final Devizes to Westminster race, racking up more than 1,000 miles on the water.

Mr Purchas, 68, who lives in Trowbridge, is a member of the Bradford on Avon Canoe Club and took part in the 125-mile race with his canoeing partner Nigel Unwin, 50, from Corsham, at the weekend.

The pair managed to finish the race in a time of 21hours 21minutes which placed them 20th out of 200 teams in the senior doubles class and Mr Purchas, who is a semi-retired design engineer, said he is glad that he able to hang up his canoeing paddles on a high.

He added: “I am very pleased to have made it to 1,000 miles after I have spent quite a lot of my time in the sport. The first one I took part in was in 1968 and the canoes were somewhat different in those days.

“One does always think back over all of the races. I have strong and fond memories of all the races and it sticks in your mind. This race was one of the better ones and we were elated to get to the finishing line.”

The weather conditions for this year’s race were considered to not be favourable for paddlers as there was a strong cold north easterly head wind during the day on Saturday and during the night with very little flow on the Thames on Sunday.

The team are expected to reach £1,300 in fundraising efforts for the race.

Other members of the Bradford canoeing team were Pip Schofield from Farmborough and Jill Blane from Corsham, both 45, who made it to the finish line after having to pull out in last year’s race from exhaustion just 17 miles from the finishing line.

Mrs Schofield said they were ecstatic to complete the race in 26hr 47min to raise money for Asthma UK after losing a friend a couple of years ago.

To donate, visit www.justgiving.com/MikePurchasandNigelUnwinDW2015.