Fastest to the pole

An adventurer from Berkshire has claimed to have made the fastest solo, unsupported trek to the South Pole.
Hannah McKeand, 33, from Newbury, set off on the 690-mile (1,110km) trip from the edge of Antarctica to the Geographic South Pole on 19 November.

She completed the challenge on Thursday after 39 days and nine and a half hours - beating the record by two days.

Ms McKeand said she hopes the expedition will raise more than £10,000 for charity.

With the end in sight Ms McKeand said: "For the first time in the journey I think, there is a tiny part of me that doesn't want it to end.

"The little crazy part that got my into this in the first place, the part that could just go on and on, skiing into the white and into the blue."

Ms McKeand, who runs a sailing company with partner David Pryce, faced temperatures of -35C (-31F) while dragging a sledge weighing 100 kilos (220lbs) across the snow and ice.