A CHEPSTOW woman who recovered from serious injuries to her legs in a car crash has completed her biggest personal challenge.

Diana McCrea learned to walk again following the accident near the Severn Bridge nine years ago which robbed her of her mobility due to injuries.

But after a hard-fought battle the 63-year-old retired Army nurse was up and about again, and last week returned from a marathon trek in Mongolia where she partnered a native horse for charity.

The trip has so far raised more than £7,000 for Help for Heroes. Her son George is a captain in the Royal Engineers and now Mrs McCrea is hoping to take the total to £8,000.

The oldest of the group of 18 fundraisers, Mrs McCrea, who is married to Roderick, travelled to to Mongolia on July 8. After spending time acclimatising, she met up with her first horse, which she named Jimmy, but a replacement had to be found as it kept rolling. The second one was named Jimmy two, which sounded like footwear brand Jimmy Choo, so became known as ‘Shoes’.

The pair spent the next seven days travelling through the Mongolian countryside, through dry river valleys and up mountain ranges, for around nine hours per day. Temperatures soared to more than 40 degrees Celsius. “The most fantastic thing, because of my previous problems was actually getting to the finish line. It was just amazing to be on this very small horse which was going so fast as part of a group across the countryside and being the only people there,” she said.

You can donate to the cause via the link below.