A FORMER Cowley High School pupil is 'on top of the world' - literally - as a member of the first all-female team to walk to the North Pole.

Twenty-nine-year-old Janet McCormac (pictured) pronounced herself "over the moon" after helping the 20-strong team achieve the remarkable feat.

Born and brought up in St Helens, Janet moved to London at the age of 18 to enrol in the Metropolitan Police.

Proud mum Jean, who still lives in Sutton Manor, told the Star: "Even when she was in school, Janet was determined to succeed. She was a member of the school tennis and hockey teams and later played hockey for the town as well."

Action girl Janet said: "I spotted an ad in the Daily Telegraph which struck a chord and I decided to give it a go. All the applicants were given some idea of what lay ahead with advice from the organisers but even though I knew it wouldn't be easy, I never doubted my mental and physical abilities."

The £250,000 McVities Polar Relay was organised by the Dartmoor-based Polar Travel company and more than 200 women answered the advertisement to take part. After a rigorous selection procedure, this was whittled down to the final 20 who were split into teams of four.

Janet was a member of the first leg and, after travelling to Resolute Bay in Canada where she and her fellow group members got acclimatised to the freezing temperatures, they were airlifted over to Ward Hunt Island on the border of Canada where they began their 16-day trek across 63 land miles.

Janet added: "The first leg was actually the hardest of the five because, although it was a smaller land mass, the terrain was very difficult with a lot of rocky ice ridges which all had to be navigated. We were also pulling about 10-and-a-half tons in weight as well. However, all the hard work has been worthwhile and knowing that we are the first all-women team to achieve the feat is very satisfying."

Janet is now planning to put her feet up for a while and rest but hopes to be reunited with her trek chums for a huge party later in the year.

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