ARCTIC explorer Tom Avery suffered a setback in his bid to reach the North Pole after drifting nine miles south overnight.

The 29-year-old, from Ticehurst, near Robertsbridge, is now struggling to reach his goal which he must reach by 4.21pm today if he is to match a record set 96 years ago.

The drift meant Tom and his team of four still had another 18 miles to cover as they set off last night for a final push across the ice.

They drifted nine miles on the constantly shifting ice as they rested overnight and woke yesterday to find themselves further away from the Pole.

Speaking today Tom said: "This is all part and parcel of travelling in the Arctic but to happen now, so close to the Pole is daylight robbery.

"The team are going through a real emotional roller coaster right now.

"We are pleased to have such a great surface to travel on and to have the Pole almost within sight but intensely frustrated to be drifting south so quickly.

"We're all too tired than is good for us and longing for the end now."

The team has to meet the 4.21pm deadline to match American Robert Peary's disputed 37-day record set in 1909.

They are attempting to recreate the historic expedition and put an end to claims Peary would have been unable to make the journey in such a short space of time.

Ice conditions were favourable this morning but good weather during the next few hours is crucial to their success.

Tom said: "We have upped our pace dramatically over the past week but the conditions have taken it out of us - the dogs included.

"Everyone is dead tired and, at one point, I actually fell asleep while standing on my skis.

"It feels as though we're getting close now but we know we are going to be made to fight for this every step of the way."

After navigating several tricky leads - wide cracks of open water which appear in the ice at short notice - the team were less than 35 miles away from their final destination on Sunday.

Tom's team were at the same latitude as Peary's most northerly campsite before he reached the pole on April 6, 1909.

Peary completed the final 35 miles in one continuous march with companions Matthew Henson and four Inuit men.

With Tom are Matty McNair, who led the first women's expedition to the North Pole in 1997, Canadian Hugh Dale-Harris, management consultant Andrew Gerber and property developer George Wells.

The past 35 days have seen them cross one of the most inhospitable environments in the world facing temperatures of -45C (-49F), the constant threat of polar bears and the fear of falling through thin ice or a crevasse.

They have worked on a 29.5 hour cycle, with 13 hours allocated for walking and just seven for sleeping. The rest of the time is spent making a camp and preparing meals.

In 2002 Tom, then 27, walked into the record books as the youngest Briton to reach the South Pole.