IOM prison officers to kayak around the Manx coastline

Two local prison officers are taking on the challenge to kayak around the Isle of Man to raise money for ex servicemen.

Two local prison officers are taking on the challenge to kayak around the Isle of Man to raise money for ex servicemen.

Martin Phillips and Keith Burns from Kirk Michael both had military backgrounds before working in the Isle of Man prison.

They've spent the past few years raising money for local charities.

Last year, the two 'tough guys' presented a cheque for £1900 to the Hyperbaric chamber, after completing the 2010 Tough guy challenge. This was a challenge that saw them battle an eight mile cross country run with 21 obstacles including fire, water, and electric shocks in sub zero temperatures.

Their latest venture will see them attempt to kayak non stop around the Manx coastline in July.

They've picked the Royal British Legion as it celebrates it's 90th anniversary this year.

Martin said; 'It seemed like a reasonable challenge when we talked about it, however the training is proving a lot harder than we thought. We hadn't considered how treacherous the Manx waters can be.'

You can follow their progress online through our website www.2toughguys.co.uk