GB para athlete aims to be first disabled person to ski solo to South Pole

A former GB para athlete is aiming to become the first disabled person to ski solo and unsupported to the South Pole.

Jonny Huntington, 38, from Kingsbridge, south Devon, suffered a stroke while serving as an officer in the British army.

The bleed in his brain, which occurred in 2014, left Huntington completely paralysed from the neck down on his left side.

After 10 years of rehabilitation and training he is set to ski 566 miles of Antarctic tundra in an expedition he anticipates will take 40 days. He will be dragging his equipment and food in a sled that will weigh in excess of 110kg (242lbs).

Huntington, who will begin his journey from the UK today, said: "No one with a disability has done this before so I find it quite exciting."

"I'll be doing it completely on my own with no sort of help, no resupply, nothing like that."

He added: "You sort of get thrown out of a plane at one end and you hopefully wind up at the other end, 40 days later. Existing somewhere which is fundamentally hostile to life, it's the ultimate test."