An explorer from the North East has completed a 200-mile trek across the frozen Arctic.
Following in the footsteps of his ancestor, Ralph Baker Cresswell, of Bamburgh, Northumberland, has become the first to complete the expedition with his seven fellow adventurers.
Despite encountering polar bears and temperatures as low as minus 50 degrees centigrade, the expedition managed 18 days and more than 170 miles of sled hauling.
The journey commemorated that of Sir John Franklin whose bid to discover a vital sea route ended in tragedy, and yesterday they reached their destination of Starvation Cove.
Ralph, 32, a roofing contractor, is related to Lieutenant Samuel Gurney Cresswell, who was on board one of the first expeditions that went in search of Franklin.
Speaking via satellite phone from Starvation Cove Ralph said: "This is one of the most amazing experiences of my life. Only a few months ago I would only have dreamt about doing this.
"Fortunately we had the benefit of modern science - while it was a dream for us, one can only begin to imagine what it would have been like for Franklin and his men.
"It's amazing to think that, 150 years on, I have been making footprints in the same remote part of the world as my ancestor."
In 1845 Franklin sailed to the Arctic with 128 men in a bid to discover the North West Passage but none of the men survived.