TWO members of Hereford Kayak Club have sailed their way through a 444-mile kayak and canoe race and finished second overall.

Both from Hereford, Steve King, a firefighter for the Hereford and Worcester Fire Service, and Shaun 'Percy' Thrower also won the masters race.

Going under the team name, the 2 Numbnuts, they completed the world's longest annual kayak and canoe race in Canada after 44 hours, 38 minutes and 51 seconds of non-stop paddling.

With 100 miles to go they looked to push on to first place team, the Voyageur, but with 50 miles remaining saw third place Gorge Downwind Champs take a different path along the two-mile-wide river and overtake.

"Once we were behind, it took 90 minutes of flat-out paddling to catch them back up" said Steve.

With just two miles left the 2 Numbnuts started their sprint finish back into second place.

"I can safely say that is the most effort I have ever put into paddling a boat to keep them two from coming through, and they tried plenty of times," said Steve.

The Gorge Downwind Champs finished just five seconds behind.

The race stretches from Whitehorse, Yukon to Dawson, Yukon in Western Canada.

They competed and won the event in 2014 where they also raised money for the Firefighters Charity.

They have raised £275 so far and further donations can be made at www.justgiving.com/fundraising/KINGER-YRQ2017