Record bid rowers at Land's End

The rowers will soon be heading up the west coast

Four rowers attempting to set a world record to row non-stop around Britain are rounding Land's End.

They are making the journey of more than 2,000 miles to raise a target of £1m for two charities.

Led by Lt William de Laszlo, 25, of south London, the oarsmen set off from Tower Bridge in London on 7 June.

His companions are Lt Ben Jesty, 24, of London, and Sgt James Bastin, 34, of Dursley, Gloucs, and Hampshire company director Will Turnage, 26.

The group hopes to raise £1m for the Outward Bound Trust and the Bud Flanagan Leukaemia Fund at the Royal Marsden Hospital, Surrey.

Called the GB Row Challenge, the rowers plan to travel about 50 miles every day during the trip, which could take five to six weeks to complete in their 23ft-long boat, Outward Bound.

Sgt Bastin, whose parents live in Plymouth, Devon, said wind against tide conditions had created a large swell which had slowed progress.

But the team were "75-80% confident" of completing the trip, which will be the first non-stop row around Britain.

He said on Monday: "Yesterday we had a fairly exciting day, with 20-25 knots of wind, making progress slow.

"It's tougher than I thought it would be, but we are hoping the wind will swing and take us up the west coast."