TWO Oxfordshire women were today starting a gruelling rowing trip taking them thousands of miles across the Atlantic Ocean.

Sarah Duff, 24, and Claire Desborough, 32, both from Henley-on-Thames, will spend Christmas and New Year's 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 about two months and they hope to raise about £250,000 for Cancer Research UK, Helen Rollason Heal Cancer UK and Trinity Hospice.