RECORD-breaking Hampshire mountaineer Rhys Jones may be forced to put his latest expedition plans on ice after failing to secure enough funding.

The 21-year-old has planned a groundbreaking expedition to sail to, then scale, the three highest peaks in the Arctic Circle.

But with just days to go until the sponsorship deadline, Rhys and his team are still £25,000 short.

He is now making last-minute appeal for a sponsor to come forward.

Rhys and three others are due to fly to Iceland before setting sail aboard an ex-Global Challenge yacht to the coast of Greenland in August.

They will then aim to tackle the 3,693-metre Gunnbjorn Fjeld, before moving on to Qaqqaq Kershaw (3,683m) and Qaqqaq Johnson (3,669m).

It is a year since Rhys, of Bartley, sat atop Mount Everest and walked into the record books as the youngest person ever to climb the highest peak on each of the world's seven continents.

Anyone interested in becoming that last minute sponsor can contact Rhys by emailing mountainmanrhys@hotmail.com or ringing 07717 810773 before Wednesday.