A team of women from across the world has completed its expedition to the North Pole.

Sevenoaks explorer Felicity Aston led an 11-strong team of European and Middle Eastern women into the Arctic Circle last month.

Dropped off by helicopter on April 14, the explorer and her team were greeted to -38C temperatures.

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Speaking to kmfm after returning to Iceland, the MBE said: "Although the first day was day was brutally cold, it warmed up into the minus 20s and that gave us a little bit of respite.

"It was frightening but so rewarding and such a privilege to be able to experience that landscape.

"The real secret to keeping going is that you're surrounded by a team that's relying on you to play your part.

"If you ever had one of those moments where you're in the sleeping bag thinking 'I don't want to get up into that horrendous temperature out there,' you know there's people in your tent and the tent next to you relying on you to get up and do your bit.

"The bottom line is once the helicopter drops you off on the ice there is no going back, you have to keep going."

The Women's Euro-Arabian North Pole Expedition brought together a team from 10 different countries and was aimed at bridging the two cultures while also empowering future female explorers.

During the gruelling journey, the team's stress levels were recorded as the 40-year-old and the rest of her team ski across around 100km over the course of 10 days.

Mrs Aston, who is originally from Birchington-on-Sea, said: "Perhaps its no surprise that there's lots of similarities but its the differences that are most interesting.

"A lot of our Arabian team mates had to pray at various times during the day, when you're in near enough minus 40C that's quite an ask to stay still for someone to complete their religious observances, but it was really wonderful to be around people that have that kind of dedication."

The team has now returned home having completed the expedition, with Mrs Aston saying she will look to her next adventure once all aspects of this project are complete.