Twins forced to call off polar charity walk after one injured

A pair of identical twins who launched a polar trek to help a paralysed schoolgirl have had to cancel their mission after one of the men was injured.
Twins Ross (left) and Hugo TurnerTwins Ross (left) and Hugo Turner
Twins Ross (left) and Hugo Turner

Hugo and Ross Turner, 25, set off to follow in the footsteps of Sir Ernest Shackleton and cross the Greenland polar ice cap, to raise hundreds of thousands of pounds for the charity Spinal Research.

Their ultimate wish is for 12-year-old Bel Young to be able to walk again. The schoolgirl, from Harrogate, Yorkshire, was eight when she lost ability to move from the neck down after slipping while playing on a climbing frame in a neighbour’s garden.

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Now confined to a wheelchair, she relies on breathing apparatus and is given round-the-clock care by her mother, Vanessa.

The twins, originally from Christow, Devon, and now living in London, vowed to raise as much cash as they could to fund research but a spokesman for the charity said that Hugo suffered a leg injury and back problems and the decision was taken to call off their 340-mile trek.

Hugo, who broke his neck some years ago, was thought to be in peak fitness before the mission, but had excruciating pain after picking up the injuries.

A doctor treating him at an isolated former American radar station confirmed it was impossible for him to continue.

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The twins had been surprised to find five American military personnel undertaking aircraft ice landing and other training close to the station, when they arrived after trekking across the ice cap for several days. Luckily a doctor was among the group.

The twins, with George Bullard, their expert guide, from Norfolk, spent 48 hours considering their options and whether just two of them would go on with the trek in the light of worsening weather and minus 30C blizzard conditions.

The spokesman said: “Abandoning the expedition left the twins feeling crushed and dejected after 18 months of planning and preparation for the assault on the polar ice cap.”

Hugo said: “I have never been in such an extreme environment. Every decision you make is a life and death one. There is no room for error and when things go wrong they go wrong very quickly.”

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