A woman crippled by rheumatoid arthritis has taken to the skies to gain a freedom denied to her on the ground.

Dawn Holmes, pictured, has invested in a part share of a £12,000 microlight and is pursuing her ultimate dream - to become a qualified pilot.

The 44-year-old is so crippled by arthritis that she is confined to a wheelchair and wears a brace to keep her neck properly aligned.

But once high above the Bradford skyline she said she feels a freedom she cannot gain anywhere else.

Dawn, of Halifax Road, Bradford, said: "It's fabulous - you have total freedom of movement - up there I'm as free as a bird."

Dawn, who works part-time as an 'Avon lady,' helped by her children Xanthe, 18, and 14-year-old Ben, is well on her way towards getting her full pilot's licence and plans to jet to airfields across the country visiting friends.

"I plan to fly to York and to Cumbria and I have told the people at Avon down in Northampton that I'm coming to see them - there are fields outside the factory where I can land."

Dawn said she fell in love with flying at an early age while watching Captain Scarlett on TV. Aged 16, she learned to skydive, and it was through her skydiving that she met her husband, Alan, an analytical chemist at Bradford University.

She had to give up skydiving due to growing immobility, but dreamed of learning to fly.

After bringing up her family, she decided to take a fun flight and, from there, to pursue her ultimate dream. She took lessons at Crosland Moor airfield near Huddersfield, and clubbed together with three friends to buy a £12,000 Rans Coyote microlight. She takes the two-seater aircraft up "as often as health and weather permits."

"There are a lot of disabled people out there who do not know what is available to them. Up there I feel a totally different women - I don't even think about mobility."

Dawn expects to gain her full flying licence this year. "I can't live without flying now," she said.