A 52-YEAR-OLD rower has furiously paddled his way into the record books as part of a triumphant dragon boat team.

David Buckland was part of a 20-strong British crew which paddled 175.6km (109 miles) in 24 hours, smashing the previous world record by 7.1km (4.4 miles).

The gruelling task saw the crew row through the night on Derwent Water in the Lake District.

Their world record attempt was almost halted by high winds which saw them postpone for four hours.

And they had to complete the task with just 18 rowers after one oarsman dropped out with a calf injury and another had to quit with an infection.

Mr Buckland, who has been dragon boating for just four years, said the feat was exhausting and some team members were reduced to crawling out of the boat when they finished.

The civil engineer, from Millers Close in Chalgrove, said: “It was daunting.

“Although we knew we had to keep going for 24 hours we didn’t know how we’d perform so it was a real step into the unknown.

“We were worried about the high winds returning and scuppering our attempt at the finish line and having to contend with rowing through backwashes from passenger ferries.

“We were also worried about capsizing the boat especially in the dark as it would have scuppered the record.

“It was just relentless, we were all running on adrenaline.”

Mr Buckland, a former sergeant in the RAF’s safety service, is used to competing in races of 200m or 500m with his team the Henley Dragons.

The furthest the Charlgrove resident had rowed before was 23 miles.

The crew completed the feat by taking 15 minute breaks for food and drinks every three hours.

He said: “It was brutal.

“We constantly had to take on energy bars, Mars bars, cereal bars and energy drinks to keep going and it was all in the balance of the weather, the crew and the boat.

“My limbs were like jelly at the end. It was an incredible attempt.

“I couldn’t have ever imagined myself breaking a world record at 52. It’s a hell of a feat for anybody of any age to race a dragon boat for 24 hours.”

The team’s successful attempt on Saturday, October 9, saw them raise money for the Alzheimer’s Society and the East Anglian Air Ambulance.