Hampshire soldier Major Steve Napier, 37, a paratrooper, is tackling a 350-mile race to the North Pole.

Maj Napier, second in command of the Army Training Regiment at Sir John Moore Barracks in Winchester, is part of a three-man team which is braving polar bears and dangerous ice floes.

With teammates Barney Franklin and Giles Greenslade, he is in Canada enduring temperatures of -18C (0F).

Maj Napier said: "The chance of going to the North Pole is an opportunity that rarely comes round. Polar Challenge offers a racing environment coupled with the extremes of weather and terrain. I am very much looking forward to the challenge and all it brings."

The team, which is one of the favourites to cross the finishing line first, is raising money for the Afghanistan Trust Charity to help the servicemen who have recently been injured in Afghanistan and Macmillan Cancer Research.

They have raised £9,000 so far and hope to hit £10,000 by the end of the trip in May.

To prepare for Polar Challenge, they took part a series of mini-expeditions and weekends in Wales, Norway and the Arctic to learn how to withstand temperatures that can dip as low as -50C (-58F) and how to deal with polar bears and other Arctic hazards such as frostbite.

The 24 competitors race in teams of three and ski the 350 nautical miles to the Magnetic North Pole pulling their supplies in 120lb pulks stopping at three checkpoints to restock.

The ages of the competitors range from 21 to 64 and the countries represented include the UK, France, China, New Zealand and the Netherlands.

The competitors include a mother- of-three, two civil engineers, a farmer, a head teacher, a builder, a geologist and two pensioners as well as a host of other professions.

The race costs £18,000 which all competitors have to raise themselves.

Many go further to raise additional money for the charities and causes of their choice.