Pom Oliver hoped to be among an all-female expedition to the North and South poles, but frostbite robbed her of her dream.

When Ann Daniels and Caroline Hamilton raised a Union Flag above the North Pole and sang the National Anthem, Pom, from Billingshurst, should have been there to share their triumph.

But the woman who missed out on getting into the history books showed she had lost none of her sense of humour on her return home yesterday.

When asked if she now just wanted to chill out, Pom, 50, said: "I think warm out is a better description."

She was airlifted to safety after suffering extreme frostbite to her toes on day 47 of an all-female trek to the North Pole.

She was in a recovery centre at Resolute Bay in the Canadian Arctic when she heard Ann and Caroline had become the first women to walk to both the North and South Poles.

Pom had been with her colleagues in January 1990 when they were part of a five-strong all-female expedition to conquer the South Pole.

Ann and Caroline, who arrived back on British soil on the same flight into Heathrow yesterday, both praised the part Pom had played, saying they kept going for her.

Also waiting at the airport was Pom's husband, film financier Kent Walwin, who referred to one of the best-known names in polar exploration as he greeted his wife with a kiss and a hug.

He said: "Captain Oates, well done", in a reference to the famous sacrifice made by a member of Captain Scott's famous team.

Although Pom did not make it to the North Pole, she was still part of a heroine's reception as members of the women's back-up team draped them in a Union Flag and paid tribute to their fighting spirit.

But later Pom revealed the trek would be her last great adventure.

She is exchanging temperatures of -50C (-58F) to return to University College, Chichester, to complete her studies in world religions for a BA degree.

She said: "This has been my swansong on ice and I am not going to go back.

"It was tough, very tough and I have no desire to do it again."

Pom has still earned a place in polar history because, in 1999-2000, she was a member of a team of five who became the first British women to ski to the South Pole.

In 1997 she was a member of a relay team which did reach the North Pole despite severe pain from a dislocated shoulder after falling into freezing waters.

Talking about her latest adventure, she said: "Apart from being airlifted off, I think the worst moment was the very first storm we encountered.

"It was dreadful and we could not get the tent up.

"At one stage I was lying on the tent with a sledge weighing 95kg to try to keep it down and we all had to lie on the fabric for two days with nothing to eat or drink.

"It was very frightening and horrendously cold. I think it was during that storm I got frostbite, which was really painful."

Pom said she had been determined to carry on but painkillers only gave her relief for eight hours at a time and the women had to walk for 12 hours to stay on schedule.

She said: "I would have gone on but our field manager said I had to come off."

Describing the moment she and the other women heard the news, Pom said: "We all just burst into tears.

"It was very emotional. Ann and Caroline have said it was the most awful moment."

It was on Sunday at Resolute Bay that Pom heard Ann and Caroline had made it to the top of the world after 81 days covering 413 nautical miles across the polar ice cap, braving a climate described as the harshest on earth.

During their historic trek across the constantly-moving ocean the women pulled their 250lb sledges of food and equipment over house-sized pressure ridges of ice.

Pom's husband said he was full of praise for his wife.

Mr Walwin is the son of the late Leslie Walwin who lived in Bognor and was the first chairman of Arun District Council and a member of West Sussex County Council for more than 30 years.

Mr Walwin said: "I am very proud of Pom, hence my reference to Captain Oates.

"I share her disappointment at not making it to the North Pole but she tried her very best.

"She was in great pain and anyone who has seen the photographs of her feet will realise she is lucky to still have her toes."

Mr Walwin told how he first heard his wife had been airlifted out of the expedition while he was sitting in the back of a taxi.

He said: "The team manager rang me and asked if I was sitting down and then said he had to take Pom out but that she was all right.

"She was taken to a hospital in the north of Canada where fortunately they do not have to look up what to do about frostbite in the text books.

"Pom has always had an adventurous spirit. In life some people walk into problems, others get by with luck and then there are survivors and Pom is a survivor."

Pom was brought up in Norfolk. After college she went travelling to Africa and Australia, working in the film industry before returning to Sussex in 1983.

Pom, who met her husband at the Cannes Film Festival in 1983, left the film industry to become a house renovator and now spends her time doing up houses and flats.

Pom said she was now looking forward to returning home for a hot bath and a reunion with other members of her family.

She said: "My feet are much better now but they looked pretty horrific at the time and although I am still dreadfully upset, I am just so pleased for Ann and Caroline."