AN ARMY veteran who lost his leg while serving in Afghanistan has broken the world record for rowing across the Atlantic.

Jordan Beecher, who lives in Chilton, completed the feat almost three days quicker than anyone had previously with his friend Captain Jon Armstrong on Saturday.

The pair were greeted by family and friends in Nelson’s Dockyard in Antigua after rowing for a gruelling 37 days, eight hours and eight minutes from La Gomera in the Canary Islands.

They have raised nearly £10,000 for various charities and are aiming to increase this tenfold as news of their achievement spreads.

Speaking from Antigua, Mr Beecher’s mother, Michelle Irving, said: “We are so proud of them, it was absolutely brilliant.

“He gave me a hug and said ‘I can’t believe; I’m a world record breaker’.

“It was very emotional and they were both really tired but it was an amazing feeling for all of us to see them arrive.”

Mr Beecher, now 29, fulfilled a life-long dream when he joined the army at 16.

During his third tour of Afghanistan with the Parachute Regiment in 2012, the Lance Corporal stepped on an IED which blew his left leg off 12cm below the knee.

Following 12 major operations in Afghanistan and Birmingham, Mr Beecher made a fast recovery and had a prosthetic leg fitted.

As soon as he was able to, he took up rowing and has since competed in the Invictus Games and trained with Team GB at the Rio Olympics.

Reflecting on being reunited with her son following news of his injury, Mrs Irving said: “It was like Christmas and birthdays all in one, there he was my boy, so brave, so handsome and as usual smiling.

“The first thing he said to me was ‘I am so sorry mum, don’t be upset, its only a scratch’.”

Mr Beecher and Mr Armstrong, 31, were taking part as the ‘Row to Recovery’ team in the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge, billed as one of the toughest rowing races in the world.

Setting off on December 14 last year, the pair rowed in two hour shifts, 24 hours a day, over Christmas and New Year to complete the challenge.

Money is being raised for Dreamfight, a charity that organises holidays for ill children, The Royal Gurkha Rifles Trust and Blesma, a charity that works with limbless veterans.