Dave pulls his weight for hospital.

A sailor on board County Durham's adopted Royal Navy ship, HMS Bulwark, has broken the Guinness World Record for the longest continual row ( and North-East children are to benefit.

Master at Arms Dave Harris set the new record ( his third ( on Friday when he completed 73 hours non-stop rowing on a rowing machine on board the ship as it made its way home to Plymouth. He rowed 626,125 metres.

HMS Bulwark is due back in the UK tomorrow after seven and a half months protecting oil platforms from insurgents off Iraq, deterring piracy along the UK's vital trade routes past Somalia, and rescuing over 1,300 UK civilians from Beirut.

Dave, a 42-year-old father of three, has raised several thousand pounds for the children's ward at Bishop Auckland General Hospital, County Durham, one of HMS Bulwark's adopted charities.

"The hospital needs around pounds 5,000 to buy a recorder to diagnose sleep disordered breathing," said Dave.