A VOYAGE in a traditional Hawaiian canoe has raised £11,000 for charity.

After seven months of training, a team from Middlesbrough set sail in the Wa'alele last month.

They completed a successful crossing of the channel and back in the vessel dubbed "the canoe that flies".

Squad members salvaged the canoe from the Captain Cook Birthplace Museum, where it was once used as a plant holder.

Thanks to contributions from regulars at The Gables public house, in Hemlington, the voyage has raised £11,000 for Teesside Hospice and the mental health charity, New Horizons.

Crew member Stuart Ireland, a regional manager for Enterprise Inns, which owns The Gables, said: "I had never canoed before, and still get seasick on a duck pond, but since the beginning of training, I have become fitter and was really excited about the challenge.

"The amount of money we have raised is phenomenal, and really has made the whole challenge worthwhile. All our regulars and supporters have been fantastic - we could not have done it without them."