A Dorset schoolboy has become the youngest ever person to fly solo around the world in a small aircraft.

Mack Rutherford, 17, who attends Sherborne School was greeted by a crowd of supporters after landing west of Sofia in Bulgaria on Wednesday.

The youngster, who comes from a family of pilots, encouraged others to "follow your dreams" after completing the challenge.

Whilst Sherborne School said "it goes to show what our students can do when they put their mind to it".

Landing in Sofia marked an end to Mack's five-month journey through 52 countries.

Upon landing, he said: "Just follow your dreams, no matter how old you are.

"Work hard and move forward to achieve your goals."

His journey began on March 23 and has involved facing sandstorms in Sudan, extreme heat in Dubai and airport closures in India.

A spokesperson for Sherborne School said, in a message to Mack: "We are so very proud of you for becoming the youngest person ever to fly solo around the world.

"We have followed your adventure, the ups and the downs, the highs and the lows and we are very much looking forward to welcoming you back to Sherborne.

On Monday, two days before completing his journey, Mack told the PA news agency he was "trying to show that young people can make a difference" and described the experience as "absolutely amazing".

He also revealed that the feat involved him at one point sleeping in a shed beside a runway on an uninhabited Pacific island after a "hairy moment" flying through rain and low cloud.

Mack has broken two Guinness World Records - becoming the youngest person to fly around the world solo, and the youngest person to circumnavigate the globe in a microlight plane.

The previous record holder for flying solo was British pilot Travis Ludlow, who was 18 years and 150 days old when he completed his journey last year.

The teenager flew a Shark - a high-performance ultralight aircraft with a cruising speed reaching 300km/h (186mph).

His sister, Zara Rutherford, has been supporting him along the way after she became the youngest woman to fly around the world, aged 19, in January.

She was among those who greeted him following his final touchdown on Wednesday.

The teenager has wanted to be a pilot since the age of three and qualified for his pilot licence in September 2020, aged 15.

His father Sam Rutherford is a professional ferry pilot, and his mother Beatrice is a private pilot.