Sailing crews set off early ahead of poor weather

The RNLI said teams set off at 10:00 from St Peter Port as opposed to 14:00 BST

A sailing race involving more than 130 young people set off four hours earlier than scheduled due to forecast poor weather.

The race, expected to take two days to complete, is part of celebrations to mark the 200th anniversary of the RNLI and is organised by the Association of Sail Training Organisations (ASTO).

The Duchess of Edinburgh, who is the patron for ASTO, visited Guernsey on Monday to meet some of those taking part ahead of the race to Dorset.

The RNLI said teams set off at 10:00 from St Peter Port as opposed to the original planned time of 14:00 BST.

A spokesperson said the race began earlier "due to the winds dropping both today and in the forecast, meaning the crossing would take longer".

It said the boats were making "good progress" across the English Channel.