Oarsome effort as Shropshire team set to row the Atlantic

And, with ages ranging from 53 to 60, they will also be breaking records.

Shrewsbury's Dianne Carrington is the oldest in the all-women team. She will be joined by midwife Sharon Magrath, teacher Deborah Bass and Elaine Theaker.

The group has set its sights on the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge race, a small matter of 3,000 miles of rowing starting in the Canary Islands and ending in Antigua.

With a combined age of 225 they will be the oldest women foresome and Dianne the oldest individual rower.

Dianne, 60, from Pontesbury, midwife Sharon , 53, from Shrewsbury, and teacher Deborah, 55, from Shawbury, will be joined by Elaine, 53, from Abergavenny, when they take on the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge.

The group did not know each other before joining together to form a team to take on the challenge, but have been brought together by the spirit of adventure.

During the row, the group are hoping to break four world records as Dianne will be the oldest woman to row across the Atlantic – the current record being 57 – as she will be 61 when she takes on the challenge.

They also believe they are the oldest foursome of ladies, the current combined age world record standing at 188, as well as being the oldest foursome of any gender, the current record being held by a group of men with a combined age of 201.

Dianne says they also think they may be the oldest team of four to cross any ocean in the world.

She said: "We didn't know each other before we decided to do this."

"Elaine was looking for a team to take part and I was looking for a team, ideally all over 60.

"We met at a seminar and we gelled so we decided to team up because we were both struggling to find people.

"In the meantime I was speaking to people at my gym to try and encourage them to take part and that was where I met Sharon and Deborah who were both really excited about the idea."

Dianne said turning 60 and going through a difficult period in her life inspired her to take on the challenge.

She said: "I lost my job with the NHS at the age of 55 and really struggled to get my confidence back.

"I love the sea, I love being outside I love fitness so I thought this would be a great way to do something really positive and something I could be really proud on."

Because of the distance between the three ladies and fourth team member Elaine they are mainly practising separately but are hoping to meet up more regularly as the challenge moves closer.

Dianne said: "We hope this can be something that will be inspirational to other women."

The group have already paid their entry fee of £23,000 but still need to purchase their own boat for £50,000 and are appealing for donations or sponsorship from businesses who will benefit from advertising on the site of the vessel.

The race will start on December 12, 2017.