WEYMOUTH adventurer Paul Moxham and his team have won a gruelling 350-mile race to the North Pole.

Paul, 34, began the four-week Polar Challenge with two team-mates to raise money for the Weldmar Hospicecare Trust on April 17.

The temperature was -18 centigrade as the trio crossed the finish line claiming first place in a six-team challenge.

The trio have been phoning through diary entries during their journey and are glad to reach a checkpoint for rest and food supplies.

In his latest diary record Paul said they had enjoyed another "splendid" and "balmy" day in the Arctic - at -11 degrees.

The team said the scenery was fantastic with bright sunshine and the ice glittering around them although it's very hard work and tough going.

As they walked through polar bear pass, the Arctic migration route, they have come across paw prints of polar bears up to 15 inches in size.

Paul's team Cold Beef were race leaders after day six as they headed towards the checkpoint.

On day eight Paul's other team-mate, Jamie Wood, a farmer from Northumberland, told how they'd had a hard morning travelling on their hands and knees before conditions improved.

Pauls sister Sarah, 32, of Whitehead Drive, Weymouth, said: "We are just so proud of him and it is such an achievement for him considering he has been training every day for this for more than a year.

"We just wanted him to get to the finish line safe so it was an added bonus for us that he came in first."

Three of their rival teams had to pull out from the race because they were unable to keep up or had team problems.

Anyone interested in sponsoring Paul should contact the Weldmar Hospicecare Trust on 01305 215315 or visit www.justgiving.com