SAILING: Yachtswoman Ellen MacArthur has badly burned her arm in an accident on her trimaran as she bids to become the fastest person to sail single-handedly round the world.

The 28-year-old from Cowes on the Isle of Wight was yesterday halfway between New Zealand and Cape Horn on day 40 of her attempt to beat the current record held by Frenchman Francis Joyon.

Her lead over Joyon's time now stands at three days, 17 hours and 23 minutes.

While changing from her back-up generator to her main generator on her 75ft boat B&Q she suffered the injury and has discussed the problem with her doctor.

In an e-mail MacArthur said: "I managed to burn my arm quite badly on the exhaust of the air-cooled generator - it was bad so I took my shirt off straight away to check it and it had immediately blistered.

"I've got some burns cream in my kit here, so I've smeared on the burns cream and it's hurting less."

To beat the record MacArthur has to better 72 days, 22 hours, 54 minutes and 22 seconds which Joyon set in February last year for the 27,000-mile challenge.

Already, the Derbyshire-born sailor has a hat-trick of records on her trip beating Joyon's times to the Equator, the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Leeuwin in Australia.

She has has just under 10,000 miles left to sail.