Web editor Sarah Elliott has helped raise £20,000 for leukaemia sufferers after enduring temperatures as low as -18C during an Arctic survival week.

Twenty-six-year-old Sarah, from the Express & Echo in Exeter, was part of a ten-strong team to fly out to northern Sweden for a seven-day adventure in the snow, stripped of all home comforts.

Led by two former Royal Marines, Sarah and the team did their best to survive the elements, sheltering in a hut made from trees and later in a snow hole by a frozen lake.

Sarah (right) said: "We did our best to keep warm by keeping as dry as possible and by having the right kit - coats, gloves and sleeping bags - and by wearing thermals all the time.

"I didn't wash for a week and we didn't have any mobile phones so it was just the 12 of us, but we weren't lonely - I quite enjoyed it!"

During the week the team were kept entertained by learning new skills such as ice fishing, cross-country skiing, husky racing and driving a snowmobile.

They were also given the chance to try moose and reindeer as part of their rations.

Sarah said: "It tasted really nice. I like trying new things and it was really tasty, like a soft beef, although I guess anything tastes good when you are on rations. We did get to eat lots of chocolate though!"

By completing the trip Sarah raised £2,500 in sponsorship and between them the team raised a total of £20,000, which will be donated to the Exeter Leukaemia Fund.

Sarah said: "The trip was really good fun and a great achievement.

"I'd love to do something like this again, but it has been very hard to raise that sort of money and I think I'll have a rest first!"