Honour for Ocean Explorer who highlights threats to World's seas

Lewis Pugh, National Geographic's Adventurer of the Year, was awarded an honorary doctorate in science from the University of Plymouth last week.

Devon-born adventurer is braving sub-zero waters in his battle to save the seas in Antarctica.

Lewis Pugh, National Geographic's Adventurer of the Year, was awarded an honorary doctorate in science from the University of Plymouth last week.

He has just returned from a high-profile trip to the Antarctic, where he donned nothing but a pair of Speedos and swam 330 metres in the Ross Sea.

Lewis was born in Plymouth but moved with his parents to Cape Town in South Africa when he was 10. He was back in the city of his birth last week to pick up his doctorate at the university's graduation ceremonies on the Hoe.

"The water was minus one and the air temperature -37C," Lewis said.  "You need to train - and you also need a good reason to spend five minutes in that wearing nothing but Speedos." (Seawater freezes at about -2C).

Lewis is in talks with governments around the world in a bid to establish an Antarctic Marine Protected Area.  He said 24 of the 25 countries with an interest in Antarctica had already agreed but the idea had been vetoed by Russia last year.  He is presently talking to the Russian defence minister "and I'm hopefully we'll be able to get them across the line", he said.