Microlight crash led to death of charity campaigner

A campaigner who raised more than £1m for charity after she was paralysed died following a microlight crash in Jordan, an inquest has heard.

Claire Lomas, 44, was paraplegic and flying an adapted microlight in the Middle Eastern country on 15 July when it veered off a road after landing and crashed into a rock.

Ms Lomas was then taken to the King Hussein Medical Centre, where she died on 22 August.

A number of charities paid tribute to Ms Lomas following her death, which is still under investigation ahead of a full inquest hearing expected to take place later this year.

Ms Lomas, from Melton Mowbray in Leicestershire, raised almost £1m for charity after she broke her back, neck, ribs and punctured a lung when she was thrown from her horse during the Osberton Horse Trials in 2007.

She was dubbed "the bionic woman" after she famously took part in the London Marathon in a robotic suit in 2012 and finished the 26-mile course in 16 days.

In a tribute posted online after her death, British Microlighting wrote that Ms Lomas gained her licence in 2022.

Speaking in a video about microlighting three years ago, Ms Lomas said: "I was paralysed in a horse riding accident in 2007 and it was the smallest error that turned my life upside down.

"I have found a lot of things that I am able to do, flying being one of them, and I love the fact that I can get out of the wheelchair and can be like any other pilot - and also the freedom it gives me."

Ms Lomas was also a friend of ex-England and Leicester Tigers rugby player Matt Hampson, who set up the Matt Hampson Foundation after he was paralysed during rugby training.

His charity funded the suit that Ms Lomas used to take on many of her challenges and he was among the people who paid tribute to her following her death.

He said: "She didn't let anyone stop her and she always wanted to push the boundaries and show people you could live a great and fulfilled life.

"She was a great ambassador and she liked to do things her own way.

"I was really shocked when I heard she had died."

The exact circumstances of Ms Lomas's death are still being investigated and a further pre-inquest review is expected to be held in July, ahead of a full inquest into her death.

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