A COURAGEOUS woman who has lost the use of her legs has inspired a fitness instructor to embark on the world’s toughest rowing challenge.

Kerry Greenfield, aged 30, from Widnes, was born with Spina Bifida Occulta with Tethered Cord Syndrome.

Her condition deteriorated when she was 23 and, during surgery, in 2009, she became very ill and became immobilised.

A cutting edge ReWalk machine, a bionic walking assistance system, could enable her to walk again.

Karen’s family and friends have already raised £22,000 towards the £50,000 target.

Matt Inglesby, who works at Crossfit Faction in Widnes, aims to break the Atlantic rowing world speed record to make her dream come true.

He will be braving the elements for a month, rowing 3,000 miles across the Atlantic Ocean.

Matt, aged 21, from Warrington, said: “It’s something I’ve wanted to do since I was 16 and now I’ve finally managed to save up enough to pay for it.

“I saw James Cracknell and Ben Fogle do it on TV and I’ve always been an outdoors person since I was a kid.

“I’ve been training a lot on the rower at the gym as the organisers said you can’t get into a rhythm on choppy waves at sea so all you can do is stick your oar in and pull.

“I’m excited as it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity but I understand a lot can go wrong that would stop us from beating the record.”

Matt flies to Gran Canaria on Saturday to meet his seven team mates ahead of them rowing to Barbados.

The group will be rowing in a shift pattern of four hours on, four hours off.

Matt added: “It would mean a lot if I could add to Kerry‘s fundraising total for the ‘ReWalk’ machine and give her that extra bit of freedom rather than having to rely on others.”

Track Matt’s progress via oceanusrowing.com/titanrow and donate by visiting gofundme.com/6acu8o.