THE body of a man from Wirral who died attempting to row solo across the Atlantic Ocean is expected to arrive back in the UK this weekend.

Welshman Michael Holt, who lived in Heswall, left Gran Canaria on January 27 with the aim of reaching Barbados in the Caribbean.

But some 700 miles in to his journey, Michael, who had type 1 diabetes, fell ill.

He was later found dead in his cabin by the crew of a fishing vessel that had sailed to his aid and later towed his boat to Cape Verde. 

Michael, 54, was raising money for the charity Mind and Liverpool Charity and Voluntary Services.

Following the tragic news, a gofundme page was created to help raise money to aid repatriating Michael's body. 

Michael's brother, David, has now confirmed enough money has been raised and the rower's body will now be flown to Manchester. 

David said: "There has been an enormous show of love and support for Mike, and for this I thank every single person involved.

"Mike's support team at Rannoch Adventure sent a representative to the island to await his arrival and to work on the process of repatriating him.

"It was at this stage we were advised that cremation is not possible on the islands and that Mike must be buried in Cape Verde within 24 hours. Understandably this caused a lot of upset. Thankfully though, with support from the consulate, and due to the condition of Mike, we were able to have him sent home after all.

"All things being well, Mike will be on his way back to the UK on Friday, landing in Manchester on Saturday."

Wirral Globe:

Over £23,000 as been raised through the gofundme page and David confirmed there will be enough money to share between Michael's chosen good causes.

He said: "Throughout the process, we could see the costs mounting and the financial impact was becoming a very real burden to us.

"A crowdfunding page was set up to perhaps try and help ease some of that pressure, but what it has achieved is far above anything I could have imagined.

"The full costs of the repatriation effort are still unclear, but we would like to support the people that were instrumental in getting Mike home, including the fishermen of Noruego. If all of the costs are covered, we know that Mike would want any further money raised to be shared amongst his charities.

"It has been an unimaginably difficult ten days, but I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for everything you have done to support."