A schoolboy who recovered from serious burns injuries is to take to the seas for the first time next week.

Craig Mitchell, 14, of Eccleshill, Bradford, will be one of a young crew of burns victims leaving on a sea-faring adventure from Whitby Harbour.

But unlike many of his shipmates Craig has fully recovered from the house fire in which he was injured when aged only four.

Thanks to expert care from staff in the Burns Specialist Unit at Pinderfields Hospital, Wakefield, the Yorkshire Martyrs Collegiate School student's only outward legacy from his ordeal are his scarred arms which were badly burned.

In a few years he plans to have skin grafts to mask the damaged tissue.

Craig's grandmother Pauline, who he lives with, said the yacht trip should be a real eye-opener for the teenager who has never taken to the ocean wave.

She said: "He's never been on a boat before so he'll either love it or hate it!

"Some of the kids who are going on the trip have very serious problems but Craig got his burns when he was young and they don't bother him that much now.

"He used to have flashbacks but he's older now and he's learned to cope with things."

The group will be joined on-board the 70ft yacht by medical staff from specialist care units at Pinderfields, Sheffield and Nottingham, to tend to those still receiving treatment.

Craig only put his name up for the maritime challenge after someone else dropped out, but he's looking forward to it.

"I know quite a few people who are going and it should be a laugh," he said.

The James Cook will pull out of Endeavour Quay on Thursday, August 17, and is due to arrive at Kingston Upon Hull the following Sunday.

The trip has been organised by the educational and sailing charity the Ocean Youth Trust, and is being sponsored by Hull-based medical firm Smith & Nephew.