Children from a Kings Langley school were in awe as they watched paralysed athlete Claire Lomas walk in the suit which saw her named the first person to complete the London Marathon wearing a robotic suit.

Yesterday Rudolf Steiner School's hall was crowded as pupils rushed to grab a seat to hear about the journey of Mrs Lomas who is currently hand cycling 400 miles from Nottingham to London, visiting schools along the way.

After cycling up Langley Hill during her arrival, the hall was filled with the sound of cheers and clapping as Mrs Lomas explained how she managed to get back on her feet after her life was turned upside down in 2007.

The former events rider lost the use of both legs after a horse riding accident and has since gone on to complete the marathon in 17 days on foot using a specially designed suit, raising £210,000 for Spinal Research and the Nicholls Spinal Injury Foundation.

She said: "That day in 2007 changed my life forever. There was a long period when I sat at home feeling sorry for myself.

"There was a lot to get used to and to come to terms with. After a while I realised there was a lot more people in worse off positions than myself and I was in a good position to raise awareness and money for spinal research."

Mrs Lomas explained her upset at having her first bath and as the water trickled down on to her legs, the realisation she would never have feeling in her legs again.

Determined to carry on however, Mrs Lomas got herself stuck into three rehab sessions every week and even booked herself on a skiing trip with friends.

She joked there was always a race to "see who would walk first" with her young daughter, Maisie who is now two-years-old.

The 32-year-old said: "I wanted to be the first person to complete the London marathon in a robotic suit but only had 12 weeks to train, so it was a case of cracking on.

"Reaching the finishing line was unbelievable and after being so frustrated and putting all my efforts into walking - when I saw my chair at the finishing line, all I wanted to do was sit down.

"Around three days after I was then thinking about my next challenge."

During the session, Mrs Lomas, answered questions from inquisitive pupils and was cheered on by pupils and staff when she showed them a demonstration of how to walk in the suit.

She finished her speech by telling the children who were eagerly listening: "My message to you all is to never give up. You will get there if you stay positive."

Grace Kearns, 15, a pupil at the school and currently completing her GCSE’s said: "It was very inspiring and I think it is great that she is still managing to complete these challenges, despite what happened to her.

"Sometimes we all get down about school work but this just puts it into perspective."

Similarly 16-year-old pupil Jacob Buckton said the talk was amazing.

He said: "She was very inspiring and I was most interested by her perseverance.

"It makes you realise that instead of feeling sorry for yourself, you should instead remain positive."

Mrs Lomas now hopes to raise £400,000 during her hand pedalling challenge which she began last Monday.

To sponsor her text Vodafone code LEGS60 to 70070 costing £3.