STAWLEY oarsman PJ Luard has returned home to a hero's reception after being part of a team which broke a long-standing Atlantic rowing record.

PJ was one of the 14 members of the Great Britain 2007 Ocean Rowing Team aboard La Mondiale when it docked at Port St Charles, in Barbados, last week, just 33 days, seven hours and 30 minutes after leaving Gran Canaria.

The team smashed the previous record, set by a French crew, by two days and one hour.

PJ, who was back in Stawley on Friday, and who works as a self-emplyed plumber in London, dedicated the achievement to his late mother Julia, who died from cancer last year.

See this week's Wellington Weekly News for more on this story.