Charity canoe duo cross England

Neighbours Mark Hennis and Sunil (Sunny) Sardesai battled cold and rain over seven-and-a-half days, raising more than £3,644 in donations after hatching the plan in their local pub, The Shoulder of Mutton.

Starting in Liverpool, they followed the Leeds and Liverpool Canal in a 16ft fibreglass Canadian canoe, joining the Aire and Calder navigation through to their final destination at Goole.

Mark, 49, who runs his own gutter clearing company, was talked into joining RAF serviceman Sunny on the expedition after Sunny took part in the gruelling Marathon des Sables across the Sahara in 2019. They named their boat The Shalom Jackie, a phrase from Channel 4 comedy show Friday Night Dinner which is a running joke with their barmaid.

Matt said: “We bought the canoe on eBay for £200, then discovered it had lots of holes, so we got it fixed up at Ruskington Body Shop, who resprayed it. Anyone who donated more than £5 got their name printed on the canoe.”

The canoe novices started training in October on the River Slea, the Witham and Torksey Lock, and had to carry their craft around the 91 locks and swing bridges along their route.

Sharing a Covid-safe hotel room along the way, they were supported by Conor Allen, an emergency medical technician, starting at 7am to cover at least 20 miles each day. Mark said: “The hotel room smelled of canal, but Conor was very good at massages.”

They also had to negotiate two major tunnels. Mark said: “One was 500 metres long and one a mile long. They are pitch black and we had to aim for a pin-prick of light.”

He added: “The wind helped push us along at times, although we have had waves a foot high. We were blown sideways and even backwards beyond Shipton.”

Amazingly they met very few other craft on the water, but supportive passers-by often donated money. “We also encountered about 350 lost footballs in the canal between Everton and Maghull,” said Matt.

On completion on Saturday they did a victory cruise on Ruskington Beck.

Mark said raising money for a good cause made all the pain and suffering worthwhile. To donate go to: www.facebook.com/donate/1425217754352147/