A Surfers Against Sewage representative for Trowbridge Wiltshire and youth worker at Holt Youth Club is planning to paddle 45 miles from his home to the sea.

Robert Curtis, 48, was planning to stand up paddleboard the length of the Kennet & Avon Canal this year on midsummer’s day.

He was going to attempt to paddle the 140 kilometres non-stop but with the Covid-19 coronavirus lockdown this has been put on the back burner for this year.

Instead, Mr Curtis hopes to paddle to the sea from his home in Holt on Tuesday and Wednesday if the weather permits.

Mr Curtis, of The Street, Holt, will carry his board and kit from Holt to Staverton where he will get on the Kennet & Avon Canal.

He said: “Like everyone else I am at staying at home helping to protect the NHS but I am hoping to do the trip on Tuesday and Wednesday, depending on the weather.” Mr Curtis will pass through Bradford on Avon and Bath on the canal before getting onto the River Avon.

“Once I get to Bristol the river is affected by the tide, so timing will be everything to get to Avonmouth and the sea.

“I aim to land at Portishead, probably one of the first beaches I ever went to as a child.

“The trip will take me one day to complete and will be my longest trip to date. I am hoping to use sponsorship money to support Surfers Against Sewage and Holt Youth Club.”

Throughout the trip, Mr Curtis will be recording the plastic pollution along the way on his camera.

“Although on this trip, I will not be able to remove the plastic, I will return to the worst-affected places to organise river cleans working with the local communities.”

The plastic pollution that Mr Curtis records will be used to send messages on social media to the makers of single-use plastic as part of a scheme called Return to Offender run by SAS.

Mr Curtis added: “I will use the trip to engage with people along the way and discuss the need to give up single-use plastic as well as talk about the trip afterwards with the Youth Club and local schools.”

Rob works as a part-time youth worker running Holt Youth Club and, over the last few years, has organised sponsored micro adventures for the members to take part in.

Holt Youth Club relies on fundraising to keep delivering services for Holt and Broughton Gifford.

“The youth club is the lead organisation in Holt working towards Holt’s plastic-free status, aiming to get the village to give up single-use plastic, which will help protect the local environment and the planet.”

The group takes part in the SAS Summit to Sea spring and autumn clean-ups.

“It is important to realise that the most of the plastic that ends up in our oceans doesn’t start on the coast but comes from inland, blown by the wind into rivers where they float out to sea.”

If you would like to support Mr Curtis, go to his just giving page, Rob’s Paddle to the Sea, or send a good luck message to plasticfreepaddler@gmail.com. You can also follow him on Facebook and Instagram.