Two Oxfordshire women will start a gruelling rowing trip taking them thousands of miles across the Atlantic Ocean today.

Sarah Duff, 24, and Claire Desborough, 32, both from Henley-on-Thames, will spend Christmas and New Years Eve rowing for charity.

They are in a team of four taking part in the Atlantic Angels team rowing from La Gomera in the Canary Islands to Antigua in the Caribbean.

The trip is expected to last around two months and they hope to raise around £250,000 for Cancer Research UK, Helen Rollason Heal Cancer UK and Trinity Hospice.