Bedfordshire NHS paramedic paddleboards across Channel

Joe Cartwright said he had "never done anything so demanding" and the weather was on his side

An NHS paramedic who crossed the English Channel on a paddleboard to raise funds for a suicide prevention charity said the experience was "incredible".

Joe Cartwright, from Bedfordshire, made the successful journey on Wednesday.

He was expecting it to take about 10 hours but "smashed it" in five hours and 45 minutes.

It was "one of the hardest things both physically and mentally I've ever done", the Luton-based worker said.

"En route I met jellyfish the size of bin lids, seals and four separate boats with migrants in, full of families, which was sad."

Joe Cartwright said it had not put him off paddleboarding and was already planning other challenges

Mr Cartwright, from Dunstable, who works for the East of England Ambulance Service (EEAS), said he first took up paddleboarding after his wife booked him a lesson at Willen Lake, Milton Keynes in 2019.

He suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression for a number of years after several of his friends took their own lives.

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The lesson changed his mindset as for "30 minutes I didn't have to think of anything instead of standing up on a paddleboard".

"If I didn't get involved with paddleboarding I wouldn't be here now," he said.

Joe said the crossing was very hard but very rewarding

After the crossing was cancelled twice due to the weather, he set off at 09:00 BST on Wednesday from Dungeness, Kent, and arrived in Boulogne-sur-Mer, France, at 14:45.

"I've never done anything so demanding," he said of the 26.5 nautical-mile (50km) journey.

He then got a lift back to England on his support boat.

Joe said he had received amazing support from friends, family and his support team

Joe only took up the sport three years ago

He said the mission would not have been possible without the support of friends, family and OLLIE, a St Albans-based suicide prevention charity, which he has raised about £9,000 for.

He had to dig deep to use all the techniques he had learnt over the years, he said.

"It did not go quickly, it felt like 10 hours.

"My body has taken a battering," he said.

His next mission would be to undertake a world record attempt in March, he added.

Joe stayed in Dungeness, Kent, in a campervan for several days ahead of his challenge