CLIMBING frames 40ft high and a ten-mile yomp with a 35lb pack - it's a far cry from the glitz that Page 3 girls are used to. But then again, this was no ordinary assignment for Sun beauty Peta Todd. The curvy 21-year-old was attempting to become the first woman to pass P Company - the name for the gruelling selection process for the elite Parachute Regiment.

With a sports bra holding her assets firmly in place, Peta tackled the toughest military test outside of special forces to support The Sun's Help For Heroes campaign - and lived to tell the tale. No woman has ever met the tough standards required to earn the maroon beret. A few have tried - but all have failed.

Peta, from Essex, joined the latest intake of recruits striving to join the airborne fighting force and - as the Army recruitment ad says - Be The Best.

A normal recruit will train for 20 weeks in preparation for P Company - short for Pegasus Company. Its commanding officer, Major Sam McGrath, has the job of ensuring the lads are good enough to be Paras. Peta joined Sam and his latest intake towards the end of their training. She took part in their final practice before they faced their five-day tests.

Sam, 29, explained: "Our standards are higher than anywhere else in the Army, that's why we are elite. It isn't policy to exclude women from military parachute duties but unlike the Marines, there hasn't been a woman who has passed our selection course yet."

When it comes to the real thing the lads will have to complete a ten-mile speed march loaded up with a 35lb rucksack and an 8lb gun. To be successful a recruit has to nail it in under one hour and 50 minutes. Peta and the recruits faced a two-mile practice run. And our girl astonished everyone by completing the course, although a little slower than the pack.

Next came the steeplechase, a daunting mile and a half of water troughs, tunnels, climbing walls and general hard graft.

Peta said: "It's cold, wet and muddy. My clothes are soaked and it's demoralising. I take my hat off to these boys."

But there was worse to come.

A breaking point for a lot of would-be Paras is the dreaded Trainasium - a 40ft climbing frame intended to test the bottle of the toughest recruit. Scaling the cargo net, Peta soon reached the notorious shuffle boards - two thin bars which a recruit has to edge across, bending and touching their toes half-way. It's a real test of nerves as the recruit looks out over the treetops and buildings below.

Sam said: "Peta did very well not to lose her head. The Trainasium is a true ordeal."

But the torture wasn't over yet. Ask any Para which event they hated most at P Company and they will almost certainly pick the log race. Eight recruits have to carry an 80kg telegraph pole over six miles of undulating terrain. The log is attached to the recruit's arm with rope which almost pulls the arm out of its socket. One recruit is put at the front of the log and made to pull the rest of the team.

It's a breaker.

Afterwards Peta said: "I felt like my arm was about to drop off. It's impossible to keep up with the team. They seem to be able to run with this log quicker than I can run normally. Unfortunately I had to pull out of this event quite quickly."

The proudest moment of a Para's career is being issued the famous maroon beret. But there is a final nail-biting test before that moment can arrive " the parachute jump. Giving our girl a taste of free-falling were the Red Devils - the Parachute Regiment's legendary aerial display team. Strapped to the stomach of instructor Sergeant Jay Webster, Peta leapt from a plane at 13,000ft, plummeting earthwards at 120mph. Once through a cloud bank Jay popped open the canopy and they drifted down for ten minutes, landing on the airfield at Netheravon, Wilts - home to the Red Devils.

Peta's P Company experience was complete.

Sam said: "We're all extremely proud of how well Peta did. Unfortunately she didn't meet the standards to become a Para but there is no shame in that. It's great that she has had a taste of what it takes and that The Sun are helping us raise money for Help For Heroes."

A very tired and bruised Peta said: "This has been the greatest experience of my life. It's a shame more people can't see what these boys achieve. To join the forces is one of the most honourable things a person can do and all of them deserve the utmost respect. Now, where do I sign up?"

For details of careers in the Parachute Regiment see armyjobs.mod.uk

Watch the video of Peta's skydive here.