A keen kayaking police sergeant based at Camborne has beaten off hundreds of fellow canoeists to come second in a prestigious 125-mile endurance race.

Sgt Sean Morley, a 32-year-old armed response officer from Hayle, paddled the course from Devizes in Wiltshire to Westminster, London, in just over nine hours.

The event, which took place over the Easter weekend, attracts teams from all over the world and is a test of the team's endurance.

There is no break and all the teams have to paddle continuously except when negotiating locks on the famous Kennet and Avon Canal before arriving in London along the Thames.

He started racing at 4.26am on Easter Sunday in a double kayak with partner Ian Wilson, another police officer, from Scotland.

The race involved 72 portages in which they had to get out of the boat and run around the lock and back into the boat.

He was fed and watered by two support teams which included his 32-year-old wife Linda, a highly skilled canoeist herself.

"He was absolutely elated," said Mrs Morley. "It was a really tough event. He was very tired. I think with the conditions as they were he did as well as he could have done. It is a great achievement. Paddling is his life."

Sgt Morley is no stranger to success and both he and his wife have represented the UK in canoeing events all over the world.

This is the third time Sgt Morley has taken part in the event, during the doubles as a junior and in 1996 solo.

He was brought up in St Austell where he formed his lifelong passion for canoeing when he joined the town's sea scouts.

Next year Sgt Morley plans to take a six-month career break to kayak around the UK to raise money for charity.