Ann Daniels (r) hopes to reach the North Pole by the end of April

Forty-year-old Ann Daniels, from Exeter, is leaving the UK on Monday in her bid to become the first woman to ski alone to the North Pole.

In 2002, Ms Daniels, who has triplets aged 10, and Caroline Hamilton, from London, became the first all-female team to walk to both geographic Poles.

Ms Daniels says the expedition is a long-held dream. She hopes to arrive at the North Pole before the end of April.

Sledge pull

During her trek Ms Daniels, whose is mother to Joseph, Lucy and Rachel, will be braving a climate that has been described as the "harshest on earth".

She will encounter open water, thin ice, a constantly moving terrain, ice ridges up to 30ft (9m) high and plunging temperatures reaching as low as -50C (-58F).

To offer protection on thinner ice and open water, she will use a special immersion suit that she used and tested on her previous North Pole trek.

While doing this, she will also be pulling a sledge weighing more than 90kg (200lb) made from Kevlar and designed to float in water.

It can also be used for sleeping in if there is a problem with her tent or if conditions are so severe that it is impossible to erect the tent.

And although it may be considered a luxury, she will be setting off loaded up with 20kg (44lb) of chocolate.