TACKLING polar bears, sub-zero temperatures and crossing 400-nautical miles of snow and ice, a Hampshire scientist has made the finish of the Polar Challenge 2010.

Romsey-based Leanne Franklin-Smith took third place in the competition with her race partner Chris Foot after a trek lasting more than 12 days and 12 hours.

As well as completing a personal goal, Leanne, a climate scientist, has also raised more than £6,000 for her chosen charity, the Daily Echo-backed Help for Heroes.

Video of Leanne Franklin-Smith preparing for her trek.

The 31-year-old, who has been in training for the challenge for more than two-years, came in just a day behind second place and three behind winners Team Avilton.

Leanne said: “I’m ecstatic with coming third, it was a tough race, and the competition was fierce to say nothing about the weather, so I think we did amazingly well.

“The race itself was so much more than I could’ve ever imagined. We experienced everything from blue skies to total whiteouts to a storm with 50mph winds.

“It was a challenge in every sense of the word. Your thoughts cycle through positive to deep dark negative on a daily basis and sometimes the tiredness means all you can do is put one foot in front of the other and concentrate on repeating that over and over.

“I just kept reminding myself of the charity and all the money that people had pledged.”

Anyone wishing to add to Leanne’s total for the Help for Heroes should go to bearbabe.co.uk to donate.