ADVENTURER David Hempleman-Adams is 50 miles away from completing a daring bid to become the first man to walk solo and unsupported to the Geomagnetic North Pole.

And in what will be his last solo expedition, the Swindon-born explorer and balloonist has dedicated the mammoth 300-mile trek to the memory of close friend and ITN reporter Terry Lloyd, who lost his life covering the war in Iraq.

Mr Lloyd, who was killed in Iraq during an ambush, became friends with David while covering many of his daring feats.

The Geomagnetic North Pole marks the northern edge of the magnetic field surrounding the earth. It is located in Greenland south east of the Darling Peninsula.

In spite of a dramatic 20ft fall from a glacier where he thought he had broken his leg, frost bite on his nose and 100ft walls of ice, David remains in good spirits and on course to complete the expedition.

He tried the same feat in 1999, but was forced to withdraw from the mission after running out of food.

Rune Gjeldnes, the Norwegian polar adventurer who walked to the North Pole with David in 1997, said: "David's determination is extraordinary and I see no reason to believe that he will not be successful."

This year marks the 20th anniversary of an extraordinary exploring career for David. In 1998 he famously became the first person to complete the Explorers' Grand Slam a challenge that saw him conquer the North and South Geographical and Magnetic Poles and scale the highest mountains on all seven continents, including Mount Everest.

David, 46, who now lives with his wife and three children in Box, near Bath, began the expedition from Ellsmere Island on Monday, March 17.

The trek is littered with dangers including thin ice, temperatures that plummet to -40 degrees, polar bears and glaciers. He has been pulling his sledge across the icy island and climbing up and abseiling down glaciers.