Deafblind jetskier attempts record

A pillion passenger directs Graham Hicks by touch

A blind and deaf man is trying to become the first person to jetski from the Norfolk coast to Holland and back.

Graham Hicks, 41, of Peterborough in Cambridgeshire left Sea Palling at 0600 BST on Tuesday.

He was heading for the seaport at Ijmuiden Marina in Holland, accompanied by a pillion rider, Jason Newell.

Mr Newell will give navigational directions over the 244 mile journey using a touch-based signalling system.

Mr Hicks, who is raising money for the charity Deafblind UK, will make the return journey on 26 June.

Second attempt

Kim Olivier from Deafblind UK said: "Graham is doing the trip for two reasons.

"The first is to completely keep proving that disability is no barrier to achievement.

"And the second is to keep raising the awareness of the disability of deafblindness, because very few people know it exists."

It is the second time Mr Hicks has attempted the challenge.

In September 2002, he was forced to turn back due to a combination of engine trouble and bad weather.