HIGH-FLYING Maxonian Jennifer Murray has broken another aviation record by flying around the world via the North and South Pole in a helicopter.

Jennifer touched down in America last Wednesday after covering 32,206 nautical miles in a 171-day journey across the globe, stopping to refuel a staggering 101 times.

She said: "It felt terrific to be back and to have accomplished everything we set out to do safely. I can't believe we've done it, it feels fantastic!

"It was all so wonderful and yet surreal. So many familiar faces. At the front of the crowds I could see my husband Simon standing waving, my mother close by - and me trying to make an immaculate touch down in front of the crowd. And then we were inundated with hugs and happiness and cameras flashing."

Her delight at being the first to make the maiden voyage was heightened after herself and her co-pilot Colin Bodill suffered serious injuries during a previous attempt when their helicopter crashlanded into an Antarctic shelf.

Jennifer, 66, is the daughter of Lady Eleanor and the late William Mather.

Lady Eleanor flew out to Texas from Whirley Hall and was reunited with her daughter at the Fort Worth Alliance Airport.

Jennifer said: "It was very emotional and we have got a big celebration party planned in London and then she will return to Cheshire."

Lady Mather added: "I am vastly relieved that they are safe and well and I am very proud.

"It is an outstanding achievement that no one has ever done before. It was very emotional to see a little red dot in the sky that got bigger and bigger until they arrived and she stepped out.

"I will see a lot more of her now she is back in the UK, and she still sees herself as a Macclesfield girl through and through.

"I try not to think about my fear when she is away, they have got through life-threatening situations.

"It will be quite a dramatic change from being cooped in that extremely confined space in the helicopter.

"She is looking forward to spending lots of time with her family and grandchildren."

Not content with being an around the world record breaker, Jennifer is also a star of the silver screen and a best selling author with two autobiographies, Now Solo and When the Light has Gone.

She was the focus of Granada television programme, called Survivors, in which her near fatal crash was recreated with actors and dubbed with her and Colin's voices.

If Jennifer thought it was all go in their air, it has been non-stop since she has had her feet on dry ground.

The mother-of-three said: "I have no more airborne adventures planned for the immediate future and will be keeping my feet firmly on the ground."

"For now, I will be writing my coffee book, read about all my adventures.

"I will be spending time with my family and I have another grandchild due in November."

The former artist took to the skies late in life when her husband, Simon, who she married in St Peter's Church, Prestbury, in 1966, bought a helicopter and she became hooked.

The grandmother-of-five entered the Guinness Book of Records as the first woman to circumnavigate the globe in one.

In 2000, she flew solo around the world and the following year she and Mr Bodill set a world speed record in the London to Sydney Air Race.

She is also one of the driving forces behind charity Polar First which launched an exciting, interactive educational project.

It sees children around the world working to understand the changing environments.