An intrepid fundraiser broke three world records by taking on a gruelling 80-hour indoor rowing challenge.

The “oar-some” achievement by Neal Marsh took place on a rowing machine set up inside Worthing Hospital.

Mr Marsh, 45, is a member of Worthing Rowing Club and skippered the Atlantic Splash bid to cross the 3,000 miles from the Canary Islands to the Caribbean in December last year.

The crew had to be rescued when their boat capsized five days into the attempt.

Mr Marsh began his latest challenge last Thursday and after 26 hours he broke the first record for the time rowed for someone of his age and weight.

His second record is for the total distance he rowed (578,900m) and the third for completing 80 hours, beating the previous record held by an Australian by six hours.

All money raised will go to the Worthing special care baby unit through the Western Sussex Hospitals NHS Trust charity Love Your Hospital.

Mr Marsh, from Littlehampton, found the challenge physically wracked his body and at times the effort and lack of sleep made him hallucinate, severely disorientating him.

He said: “It was a great opportunity to give something back to our local hospitals.

“The real heroes are the staff that work there, who do so much to care for people, day and night.

“Everyone was really supportive and I just couldn’t have done it without the encouragement from everyone who dropped by to cheer me on.”

To support Mr Marsh, visit www.justgiving.com/indoor-rowWR.

Love Your Hospital is a charity that supports the patients, families and staff at Worthing Hospital, St Richard’s in Chichester and Southlands in Shoreham by providing equipment and facilities that are not provided by NHS funding or other sources.