A SUMBARINER from HM Naval Base Clyde led Paralympic skier Millie Knight to a gold medal and further success, despite injury, at the World Para Alpine Skiing Championships.

Able Seaman Brett Wild, a steward on board HMS Ambush, accompanied partially-sighted Millie to the event in Tarvisio in the Italian Alps in January.

The pair arrived in Italy on a high and filled with confidence following their recent success in the Inkerkremms World Cup Speed races in Austria, where they took gold in every race.

MIllie spoke of their success saying: "Having done well in the first three races we wanted to win the fourth and make it a clean sweep. What an 18th birthday present!"

Building on their success Millie and Brett went on to win gold in the first race which was the downhill event, becoming the first ever British snow sports world champions.

However, Millie crashed through the finish line, travelling at 115 kilometres per hour, whilst winning the race. This led to her having a severely bruised ankle and knee as well as minor concussion.

In spite of her injuries Millie still achieved great results, going on to win silver medals in the other four disciplines in which she was competing.

The most important thing the pair took from the championships was that they had achieved a gold medal, which they required to secure maximum funding from UK Sport, the National Lottery funding programme.

After the win Brett said: "I wouldn't be here without the tremendous support from the National Lottery and the Royal Navy and Royal Marines Charity for enabling me to ski with Millie.

"We came into this competition confident from our world cup success and today's performance has been truly brilliant and has delivered vital international results for Great Britain."

The pair have been competing together since February 2016, when Brett was invited to take part in a trial with Millie.

Following a three day trial, and then a successful month in Aspen for the World Cup finals, Brett was delighted to be asked to be Millie's full-time guide.

The skiing duo have gone from strength to strength, despite a few challenges with Millie's exams and her being ill, and have won eight gold, seven silver and one bronze medal.

The duo are now off to South Korea to compete in the Paralympic test event and World Cup finals, where they hope to add to their collection of medals.

With the Paralympics taking place in March 2018, the duo are pleased with their progress.

Brett added: "I can't explain how grateful I am to the Royal Navy for this unbelievable opportunity.

"Millie and I are both very pleased with our progress and hopefully we can take this confidence to Pyeongchang and win gold for Great Britain."