Explorer scraps polar trek as food supplies run out

♦ Ben Saunders. the polar explorer, has abandoned his quest to cross Antarctica unassisted after “ferocious” conditions left him without enough food to complete his journey.

Mr Saunders, 40, attempted what he described as the first solo unassisted crossing of Antarctica in memory of his friend Lieutenant Colonel Henry Worsley, who died on an expedition to traverse the Antarctic alone last year.

He aimed to spend 65 days travelling more than 1,000 miles across Antarctica, but was forced to cancel the trip when he arrived at the South Pole yesterday, after 52 days.