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| Explorers reach South Pole target | Explorers reach South Pole target |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| Three descendants of Sir Ernest Shackleton and his team have completed a trek to the South Pole. | Three descendants of Sir Ernest Shackleton and his team have completed a trek to the South Pole. |
| Lt Col Henry Worsley, from Hereford, Will Gow, from Kent, and Henry Adams, from Suffolk, arrived on Sunday. | Lt Col Henry Worsley, from Hereford, Will Gow, from Kent, and Henry Adams, from Suffolk, arrived on Sunday. |
| They took 66 days to complete Shackleton's route, 100 years after he had to abandon it. | They took 66 days to complete Shackleton's route, 100 years after he had to abandon it. |
| Speaking from Antarctica, Mr Gow said: "It's been a very long journey, 66 days over 900 miles of pulling our sledges... we're absolutely ecstatic." | |
| Shackleton set out on his Nimrod expedition in October 1908, hoping to become the first person to reach the South Pole. | Shackleton set out on his Nimrod expedition in October 1908, hoping to become the first person to reach the South Pole. |
| But icy blizzards and dwindling rations forced him to turn back 97 miles from his goal on 9 January 1909. | But icy blizzards and dwindling rations forced him to turn back 97 miles from his goal on 9 January 1909. |
| 'Explorer's spirit' | 'Explorer's spirit' |
| The trio of descendants celebrated Christmas Day as their forebears did 100 years before, with cigars and a spoonful of creme de menthe | The trio of descendants celebrated Christmas Day as their forebears did 100 years before, with cigars and a spoonful of creme de menthe |
| During their Matrix Shackleton Centenary Expedition, they hauled 300lb (136kg) sledges for up to 10 hours a day in temperatures that dropped as low as -52C. | During their Matrix Shackleton Centenary Expedition, they hauled 300lb (136kg) sledges for up to 10 hours a day in temperatures that dropped as low as -52C. |
| Lt Col Worsley, 47, is the expedition leader and a descendant of Shackleton's skipper Frank Worsley. | Lt Col Worsley, 47, is the expedition leader and a descendant of Shackleton's skipper Frank Worsley. |
| Mr Gow, 35, a City worker, from Ashford, is related to Shackleton by marriage. | Mr Gow, 35, a City worker, from Ashford, is related to Shackleton by marriage. |
| Mr Adams, 33, a shipping lawyer from Snape, near Woodbridge, is a great-grandson of Jameson Boyd-Adams, Shackleton's number two on the unsuccessful expedition. | Mr Adams, 33, a shipping lawyer from Snape, near Woodbridge, is a great-grandson of Jameson Boyd-Adams, Shackleton's number two on the unsuccessful expedition. |
| Andrew Ledger, 23, from Derbyshire, Tim Fright, 24, from West Sussex and David Cornell, 38, from Hampshire, joined the expedition for the last 97 miles to the South Pole. | Andrew Ledger, 23, from Derbyshire, Tim Fright, 24, from West Sussex and David Cornell, 38, from Hampshire, joined the expedition for the last 97 miles to the South Pole. |
| The expedition was being used to launch a £10m Shackleton Foundation, which will fund projects that capture the "explorer's spirit" and hunger for "calculated risk". | The expedition was being used to launch a £10m Shackleton Foundation, which will fund projects that capture the "explorer's spirit" and hunger for "calculated risk". |