A Dorset woman who paid £5,000 to have her leg amputated said it was the best decision of her life after she lost 4st in weight and became a champion triathlete.

Hannah Moore is now aiming to compete at the Tokyo Paralympics in 2020 and has been fitted with a revolutionary prosthetic cycling leg to help propel her to a gold medal.

The 21-year-old had her right leg amputated below the knee two years ago after an ingrowing toenail caused years of excruciating pain and left her battling sepsis and in a wheelchair.

The NHS didn't recommend the radical and life-changing procedure and refused to do it so Hannah's family paid for it to be done privately.

Since the surgery Hannah has gone from strength to strength, becoming a super-fit triathlete and losing more than 50lbs in the process.

Her new custom-made £10,000 'cycling leg' has been designed by leading prosthetics firm Dorset Orthopaedic of Ringwood.

The light-weight carbon-fibre limb clips directly to the pedal meaning no power is lost when she pushes down.

As well as enabling her to transfer more power to the bike, her new leg also provides her with far greater stability when going around corners.

Previously, Hannah used a regular prosthetic leg for the cycling discipline of the triathlon, which was attached to a trainer strapped to the pedal and was very wobbly.

Hannah, from Stalbridge, near Blandford, said the new leg should give her an edge over competitors.

She said: "Having my leg amputated was the best decision I've ever made. The things I have achieved I would never have without this operation.

"I am a British champion and now my dream is to compete in Tokyo.

"The custom-made cycling leg is designed to be aerodynamic.

"It is a lot lighter than the leg I was previously using and because it attaches to the pedal there is a lot more power transfer.

"With my normal leg there is a lot of movement in it so some of the power gets lost.

"It feels amazing, really different, so much more comfortable and I have so much more balance going around corners."

Hannah will remove the artificial limb and replace it with a blade for the running part of a triathlon.

Matthew Hughes, prosthetist at Dorset Orthopaedic, said the streamlined design should help Hannah improve her times on the bike.

He said: "Our design will help her generate more power and improve her times.

"The science behind the shape of the leg is to make it more aerodynamic and we have used a pre-pregnated carbon fibre which hasn't been used for cycling legs before.

"There should be better power transfer and stability when she is pushing down on the pedals.

"Hannah should be proud of the progress she has made in such a short space of time."

Six years ago Hannah was a 15-year-old national karate champion when she underwent a routine procedure for an ingrowing toenail.

However, it triggered a rare, debilitating condition called Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) which blighted her life for the next four years.

She suffered with severe pain and swelling as the blood vessels in her right foot became infected by sepsis.

Ulcers formed on her foot and despite over 50 operations and numerous skin grafts they would not heal.

The situation got so bad that Hannah was left wheelchair-bound.

At that point she made the agonising decision to have her right leg amputated to stop the pain even though she was told there was no guarantee it would work.

The NHS refused to carry out the amputation since it was not their recommended treatment for CRPS and they said she would still be in pain afterwards.

But other surgeons said there was a chance the operation could take away her pain so Hannah's family paid privately for the procedure in July 2016.

The gamble paid off as the Yeovil College student is no longer in pain and the fittest she has been in her life.

Last August she became the British PTS4 Paratriathlon Champion and she will begin a sports and exercise degree at Loughborough University later this year.

She said: "I started training three months after the amputation and obviously started off really slowly and have just built on that over time.

"I did wheelchair racing before I had my leg amputated and I knew a few people who did triathlon through that, I'd always wanted to try it but I never could when I had my leg.

"The variety of training for three sports I found very appealing.

"For me the hardest times were before having my amputation as I was having operations almost every week in London and the pain was so wearing.

"Since having my amputation I've never felt sorry for myself. It's all been about making the most out of situation showing to myself as much as anyone that a 'disability' doesn’t have to define what you can and can't do.

"I have achieved so much more than I ever thought I would and this is just the beginning which is very exciting."