An explorer who became the youngest person to walk to the South Pole yesterday told the Prince of Wales he was planning another gruelling trek, this time to the North Pole.

Tom Avery, a 27-year-old ski company worker, said it was "a great honour" to meet the prince who had spoken to the polar team by satellite phone a few days before they reached their goal in December.

Mr Avery, from Ticehurst, completed the challenge after a 702-mile trek across the Antarctic.

The four-man team also beat the world record for walking to the South Pole, posting a time of 45 days and six hours, and raised money for the Prince's Trust in the process.

Mr Avery met Prince Charles at St James's Palace, where they talked about future fund-raising projects for the Prince's Trust, including possible trips to Greenland, Siberia and the North Pole.

He said: "We had been raising money for the Prince's Trust and we are going to be doing a series of lectures on adventures to schools.

"We hope to do a trip to the North Pole in a couple of years but the preparations for that take quite a lot of time."

The team set out November 17 last year and arrived more than six weeks later following a final 31-hour trek to their goal.