A woman left paralysed from the waist down after being knocked off her bike has marked the 21st anniversary of her accident by swimming the English Channel.

Paula Craig MBE has become the first ever person with a complete spinal cord injury to swim the stretch without a wetsuit, as part of a relay team.

She was one of six swimmers who set off from Dover at 2.48am yesterday, each swimming for an hour in rotation until they reached France.

The 59-year-old completed the challenge to raise money for Aspire - a national spinal injury charity that has supported her since the accident.

The team swam for 14 hours and three minutes, with Ms Craig, a former police officer and marathon runner, taking on two hour-long swims.

“I’m exhausted but relieved and excited that we made it to France," she said after reaching the French coast.

"The rest of the team were incredible, supporting me all the way and helping me get back onto the boat after my swims.

"I support Aspire whenever I can because the charity is the reason I am where I am today, in terms of both my physical and mental wellbeing.

"Their support since I was paralysed by a spinal cord injury has included providing me with accessible accommodation after my discharge from hospital, which enabled me to return to work within a year of my accident.

"Their fully inclusive facilities at the Aspire Leisure Centre enabled me to return to sport and, in turn, to start living life to the full again.”

The other members of the team were Katy Bradfield, Emma White, Simon Elwell, Paul Parrish and Marc Gledhill, with Tessa McLean as the boat leader.

Paul Parrish, who is also Aspire’s director of fundraising and marketing, said: “Paula was our sixth swimmer and was quite happy to roll off the back of the boat into the murky water.

"She has a T12 full spinal break so her legs should drag in the water, but she somehow manages to use her core strength to prevent this and is able to swim long distances without them sinking.

"That is remarkable, but it’s her bravery that always stands out; she is unable to tread water or get out of the Channel quickly.

"She has to rely on her team, and we had devised a system to get her safely back on the boat using a spinal board.

"It wasn’t easy for her, but the system worked, and we could carry out slick swimmer change overs.”

Ms Craig has refused to let her injury defeat her and has "run" the London Marathon in a wheelchair and competed as a wheelchair tri-athlete at an international level, while continuing to work as a police officer for the Met, being promoted to DI and working in the murder squad, internal affairs and counter terrorism.

In 2005 she was made an MBE for her services to policing.

Ms Craig hoped to take on the challenge last year but the attempt was thwarted by bad weather.

So far she has raised £23,197 through Just Giving. To donate, click here.