Ann Daniels: Best day yet after meeting polar bear

Mother-of-four Ann Daniels, 40, from Whimple, said she was passing an ice ridge "when I saw a bear watching me.

"He followed me at a distance, so I crossed behind him so I could keep an eye on him. After a while he lost interest and walked off."

Nine days ago she had to use her Magnum handgun to scare off another bear.

Supply drop

Ms Daniels has now skied 115 nautical miles in 18 days across the moving Arctic Ocean.

She explained how, during white-out conditions, she blundered into "leads" of water and had to throw herself backwards to stop herself sinking into them.

She has also had to use her sledge as a bridge to cross a couple of the leads.

To enable her to make faster progress across the ice, Ms Daniels has been pulling a sledge with 20 days supply of food and fuel.

She has plenty of food left, but is down to her last half litre of fuel, crucial for melting snow for drinking water.

Ms Daniels is expecting a 40kg supply drop by helicopter on Thursday morning, which is extra weight which will slow her progress.

Her communications manager, Ian Wesley, said Ms Daniels was happy with her progress, adding: "For the last few days she has been in very high spirits."