Paralysed Leicestershire Lady Is Woman of Achievement Winner

A woman who had her life marred by a riding accident has won a national award for her charity work, which included completing the London Marathon.

Claire Lomas, who is aged 34 and hails from the village of Eye Kettleby, was paralysed from the chest down by her accident in 2007, but responded by engaging in a series of endurance events for charity.

She has been recognised for her work in the Vitalise Women of the Year Awards 2014, where she was named Woman of Achievement for this year.

Ms Lomas has achieved feats such as completing the London Marathon in a robotic suit in 2012, an effort that took 17 days to complete. Last year, she managed to ride over 400 miles using a reclining bike that had been specially adapted for her use.

Her fund-raising for various good causes has passed the £400,000 mark and she has no plans to stop there.

Receiving her award at the ceremony in Birmingham, she said: "I never thought I'd be receiving anything like this when I started planning to do the marathon."

She added: "Reaching £400,000 is amazing and I'm looking at reaching £500,000 now - which would be such an unbelievable figure."

Award committee member Zalena Vandrewala remarked: "Claire Lomas is an incredible woman, who has worked hard to overcome a challenge most of us could never imagine recovering from."

Among the beneficiaries of Ms Lomas' work has been the Nicholls Spinal Injury Foundation, for which she has raised £63,000. This included £11,000 raised in an auction this year that included items like riding breeches donated by Katie Price and a Manchester United shirt signed by the squad.

Ms Lomas is not the only woman to win an award for her work after being paralysed in an accident.

Last month, Jordan Bone won the Points of Light Prime Minister Award from David Cameron for her work in teaching youngsters about the importance of safe driving.

The 24-year-old from Norfolk has dedicated herself to such efforts after being paralysed in a car crash in 2005.

Expert Opinion

This is a fantastic and inspiring story in which a woman has suffered a serious life-changing injury but battled back through rehabilitation and support to take part in a fantastic fundraising effort. <br/> <br/>"People like Claire are a fantastic example to others and it is fantastic that she has been recognised." Neil Whiteley - Partner