Paralysed woman to take on the London Marathon in bionic suit

Claire Lomas, 32, from Eye Kettleby, near Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, will be attempting to complete the 26-mile route in her ReWalk suit despite being paralysed from the chest down following a horse riding accident in 2007.

The mother-of-one, who revealed her hopes to take part to the Yorkshire Post in February, is expecting to complete an exhausting 1.5 miles each day.

Celebrities including Gabby Logan and former tennis star Tim Henman will be walking a mile each with her while husband Dan, mother Joyce and 13-month-old daughter Maisie will to cheer her on from the sidelines.

The challenge is expected to take Mrs Lomas several weeks to complete, depending on the weather, and she hopes to raise more than £50,000 for Spinal Research.

She said yesterday: “I think the hardest thing will be coming back out day after day, especially once it’s gone quiet. There’ll obviously be lots of people on the first day to keep you going but even that could be a massive distraction.”

Mrs Lomas, who broke her neck, back, ribs and punctured a lung when her horse Rolled Oats threw her off as she took part in the Osberton Horse Trials in Nottinghamshire in 2007, had the idea of taking part in the marathon about a year ago.

The former chiropractor trained on the ReWalk system at Cyclone Technologies in East Yorkshire, which holds the only UK licence for the £43,000 suit designed by Israeli entrepreneur Amit Goffer, and her friends and supporters have raised enough money to buy her one.

The technology works by recognising a shift in the wearer’s balance, indicating their wish move in a given direction.

To sponsor Mrs Lomas visit www.justgiving.com/Claire-Lomas