An Oswestry man looking to row across the Atlantic Ocean as part of an ex-forces group in December is calling on businesses to help them.

Ian Davies, a former warrant officer in the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, held a rummage sale at Oswestry's Memorial Hall on Saturday, hoping to add to his already impressive fundraising so far.

But Mr Davies, who is recovering from myeloma, a form of bone marrow cancer, is also calling on businesses in and around Shropshire to consider packages of sponsorship that will allow him and his colleagues the chance to make the prestigious trip.

"The fundraising has gone really well," he said.

"The trip costs £100,000 between us all, and we've all put up £10,000 of our own money, and so far we've raised around £18,000.

"However, we think money saved is money raised and we might be able to do it for around £85,000 because we've bought the boat already, for example, so we think me might need to raise £25,000 in the next six months.

"There's a lot of from Shropshire, including myself from Oswestry and we want to make it a 'Shropshire' boat.

"That means we're looking for Shropshire support and whether that's something like sponsoring us a day for £250.

"There are all kinds of sponsorship packages available, which can be from sponsoring the whole boat to the one-day option.

"We hope that you can help us – get in touch if you do."

For more about the trip and Mr Davies, head to www.atlanticmavericks.com or call 07905 219546.