Jonathon Bradshaw is catching up on his rest after completing a gruelling 60-day trek to the South Pole.

The former IT engineer returned to his home in Middleton last week after he and four others became the first all Irish group to reach the pole.

Celebrations had to be postponed for nearly two weeks when high winds delayed their rescue plane taking them off the ice plateau.

But the team were finally able to toast their success when they landed at Cork airport last week and were met by 500 people.

The 36-year-old said: "I hadn't slept in five days because of the rush of getting home and the 36-hour flight.

"But what we had done finally hit home when we got to Cork. We realised how much it meant to us and our families and friends. We were treated like celebrities and appeared on television shows."

Mr Bradshaw will not be resting easy for long though. He plans to resume a challenge he began last year to cycle from London to New York. He said: "I have already cycled from England, through Scotland, the Faro Islands, Iceland and Greenland.

"That was where I met and joined the team who were training to go to the south pole.

"Now I have to finish my journey and cycle 1600 miles from north Canada to New York."

Mr Bradshaw is also in training to swim across the Atlantic in 2009. He needs to raise £250,000 for the month month venture. Anyone interested in sponsoring him is urged to email jonathon.bradshaw@gmail.com