Recruitment consultant Fiona Thornewill has entered the record books as the fastest person to walk and ski across the South Pole solo and unaided.

Thornewill made the 700-mile trek from the Hercules Inlet at the edge of the sea ice to the South Pole in just 42 days. She also hauled a supply sledge weighing around 130 kilos across the ice in wind-chill temperatures as low as -50C.

And despite losing all satellite communication with her logistics team 10 days into the expedition, Thornewill beat all previous records, both male and female.

She has now set up camp at the South Pole to wait for her husband Mike, who is conducting another expedition to the pole.

Thornewill has worked as a consultant for Nottingham-based Harper Recruitment for the past eight years.

During that time, she has taken holiday and unpaid leave for an expedition to the South Pole with her husband in 1999, and a further trek to the North Pole.

Harper Recruitment’s managing director Jane Hadfield said: “Work definitely stopped when Fiona called us from the frozen wastelands of Antarctica. Her sheer determination and drive pushed her to the limits to reach her goal.