Disabled sailor in new challenge

Hilary Lister broke the record for the longest sailing by a quadriplegic

A paralysed woman who became the first quadriplegic sailor to cross the English Channel now has her sights set on sailing around the UK.

Hilary Lister, from Kent, used controls powered by her breath to navigate her boat from England to France.

After recovering from Tuesday's six hour adventure, she said "now it would be great to go around Britain".

She added: "I want to show everyone that disabled and able-bodied people can live exciting, challenging lives."

Miss Lister said she found the channel crossing "quite tiring" but the adrenalin rush kept her going.

Speaking to BBC Breakfast she said: "If you want to have your dream badly enough you can do it.

Hilary Lister took up sailing after a friend recommended a club

"I am still on cloud 300."

Mrs Lister, from Canterbury, has been a quadriplegic for four years, because of a progressive degenerative disease, reflex sympathetic dystrophy, which has worked its way up from her ankles to her neck.

The 33-year-old can now move only her head, eyes and mouth and took up sailing two years ago as a way to boost her self-confidence.

The mechanism she uses to sail the boat has two straws connected to switches - one controls the sails and the other is attached to the tiller which steers the vessel.

By completing the Channel crossing Mrs Lister set a record for the world's longest solo sail by a quadriplegic.