A MAN from Lower Peover – with help from three pals – has hit the record books after becoming part of the fastest four man crew to cross the Indian Ocean – all 3,800 miles of it – in a rowing boat.

Angus Collins, 25, of Foxcovert Lane, completed the challenge in 71 days as part of the 'Fast Row West' crew after landing on the Seychelles on September 10.

Along with colleagues Jamie Sparks, Hamish Khayat and Alex Simpson, they set off from Western Australia on July 3, with the destination set for Mauritius.

But due to a storm the crew had to redirect to the Seychelles– putting more miles and days on the challenge.

The first successful crossing of the Indian ocean was back in 1971 by Anders Svevlund. In the ensuring 45 years there have only been 16 successful crossings and a further 19 failed attempts.

But the Ocean Rowing Society confirmed that the Fast Row West crew have set the following records: the fastest four man crew to cross the Indian Ocean; the youngest four man crew to cross any ocean; and they were the 4th quickest row boat to cross the Indian Ocean – two of the three quicker boats had larger crews, one was six man and another seven man.

Angus, whose uncle Charlie Pitcher, set a world record rowing across in 2013 for the fastest solo row across the Atlantic Ocean, told the Guardian the crew ran a rota of two hours rowing, two hours sleeping for the entire trip.

"We got use to it really quickly but there was pain and sore muscles," he said.

"We also got upset but you soon get over that. We had a big storm that pushed us north of Mauritius and as a result we had to row another 500 miles to the Seychelles and that meant we were at sea for another 15 days. We then had to go around a coral reef which added another five days – we felt that the world was against us.

"It was at that point that I really didn't want to be there any more."

During the trip, which was sponsored by banks and firms including Fortnum and Mason, the crew updated their followers via a blog and even garnered support from former England cricket captain Andrew Strauss and Liz Hurley.

Angus added it was a special moment when the team arrived at the Seychelles where the crew was met by family, friends and partners.

"It was unbelievable when we got there," he said.

"We'd been living on rehydrated food, all army packs, which cost £10,000, and we had to pack it into all sorts of gaps on the boat.

"We also had a water maker, which purifies the salt water but that uses a lot of the energy from the solar panels on the boat."

Angus currently works for London-based Rannoch Adventure which designs and builds ocean rowing boats and prepares and trains ocean rowers/crews.

He told the Guardian his training had started on Monday ahead of the 2015 Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge, which takes place in December 2015.