A CREW of North-East teenagers sailed into the region this week after an experience of a lifetime on the high seas.

Six youths from County Durham were among a contingent of 21 teenagers from the region, on board the Prince William, which arrived in Newcastle from Great Yarmouth.

They were Laura Henderson, Stuart McCrorie, David Rose and Kevin Proctor all 16 and students at the Stanley School of Technology and Amy Haswell and Ka-Leung Lam, both 18, of New College, Durham.

The students, who were with the Tall Ships Youth Trust, spent seven days at sea, learning all aspects of sailing the ship.

Tall Ships Youth Trust events manager Jo Wheeler said: "We are aiming to encourage more young people to sail with us and we are looking for crew members for the Tall Ships Race next year. It is an opportunity for them to experience something completely different - and is more about learning life skills."

"This crew thoroughly enjoyed the voyage.

"It was good sailing weather with strong winds. Unfortunately some of them got seasick at first. But they recovered and took it all as part of the adventure."

A new crew will join the ship tomorrow and sail on Friday.

Anyone interested in becoming a crew member in the Tall Ships Race or who wants to find out more about the trust can visit www.tallships.org