Hereford kayaker Allen Spencer has returned from the Marathon World Cup in Crestuma, Portugal with a silver medal.

The Hereford Kayak Club member teamed up with Andy Daniels, of Reading, to take second place over a tough 12-mile course.

The pair had to survive a bad mistake at the first of three 400-metre portages where they capsized getting back in on the sandy beach. They quickly emptied the boat but spent the rest of the race making up the deficit on the four other crews.

In a sprint finish, they overtook the two Spanish and one French crew but were unable to overhaul the Swedish pair and finished in second spot in a time of one hour 28 minutes.

"This is another good result for British canoeing," said team manager Jim Rossiter. "Allen and Andy paddled well and thoroughly deserve their silver medals."

The Spencer family now have a busy few weeks of international competition ahead.

Allen heads for the Junior European sprint championships in Plovdiv, Bulgaria later this month and hopes to qualify at this event for the Junior World Sprint Championships in Hungary in August.

Elder sister Jenny has also been selected for the under-23 European Championships in Bulgaria where the promising women 's K4 crew of which she is a member will be looking for a good result.

And younger sister Clare, who has been competing at the Youth Olympic Festival in Italy, has been selected for the European Marathon Championships in Tyn in the Czech Republic.