A FORMER RAF parachute instructor from Hereford is bidding to become part of the first all-amputee team to row the Atlantic.

Nigel Rogoff lost a leg after colliding with a stand at Aston Villa's Villa Park ground during a parachuting display in 1998.

Now aged 56, the Withington resident is teaming up with three other injured servicemen to take part in Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge from the Canary Islands to Antigua.

The Row2Recovery team is one of 30 taking part, all making their way to the Caribbean with no sails and no artificial power.

"We have 100 days to get there but we anticipate it will take 50-60 days," said Mr Rogoff who spent 23 years with the RAF.

"I am a bit nervous.

"Tankers are a big worry, along with debris carried by the ocean.

"None of us have ever done it. I'm also a bit susceptible to seasickness.

"So we're a little bit in the lap of the gods but god-willing, we will have that luck in our favour."

The rest of the team is made up of former Irish Guardsman Paddy Gallagher, 30, who lost his right leg below the knee in a blast in Afghanistan in 2009, serving Royal Marine Colour Sergeant Lee Spencer, 46, who lost his right leg below the knee after being hit by flying debris while helping a motorist who had crashed on the M3 in Surrey, and serving Light Dragoon Lance Corporal Cayle Royce MBE, who is 29 and underwent a double amputation and lost fingers on his left hand following a blast in Helmand, Afghanistan in 2012.

The foursome have been on a sea survival course which is mandatory for all competitors.

"The Spanish authorities won't allow you to leave port without the relevant qualifications," said Mr Rogoff.

"We know we will all get sores on our backside. Most of the time we will row naked.

"I have one good leg but I won't take my prosthetic with me because it will only get wrecked, so I'll slide.

"We all keep ourselves fit anyway but we have upped the ante recently."

He says he will try and get "as fat as possible" for about three weeks prior to the challenge starting on December 15.

Each of the crew will burn about 8,000 calories a day while on the water.

The Row2Recovery team are raising money for injured service personnel.