Having fulfilled one of her childhood ambitions when she became a woman, Melissa Ede, 53, a taxi driver from Hull, hoped to tick off another by becoming part of the Mars One expedition.

So determined to make it into space was Miss Ede, she decided to prove her dedication by getting the project's logo tattooed on her forearm.

But when Miss Ede's application to become one of the first 'colonists' on Mars was turned down, she was left devastated - and desperate to remove the offending inking.

Missed opportunity: Melissa Ede, 53, from Hull, had hoped to be part of the Mars One mission

Miss Ede's bid to go into space began in April 2013 when she read that Mars One was recruiting astronauts willing to become part of a colony on the red planet.

Although taking part in the mission would have meant leaving Earth for good, Miss Ede, who says she dreamed of 'changing the world' as a child, leapt at the opportunity.

'As a child, I had two dreams,' she explains. 'One was to become a woman. The other one was to make history.

'Mars One is a mission about sending human beings to Mars. It's about colonising Mars so you take a trip one way and start a new life.

'The opportunity of taking that challenge on, completing that challenge, was worth everything I had.'

Dedication: She had hoped to impress selectors with her dedication after getting a tattoo of the logo

Devastated: The taxi driver was heartbroken when she was turned down - and now wants the inking removed

Miss Ede, who says she has dedicated her life thus far to 'promoting diversity', duly applied and in July 2014, was delighted to discover that she had made the long list of astronauts.

'Out of a quarter million people who applied worldwide, I was one of 600 overall and 20 in Britain to be chosen,' she explains.

Looking forward to a new life on the red planet but with further selection rounds to go, she decided to get a tattoo of the project's logo in a bid to prove to selectors just how serious she was.

But eight months after getting the bright red inking on her forearm, she was left devastated after receiving an email telling her that her application had been rejected.

'That was one of the worst moments in my life to be honest,' she remembers. 'I've been through so much in my life already and to read that [email], everything just crashed around me.'

Dream: She had hoped to blast off into Space (Discovery pictured) and make a one way trip to Mars

Now, six months on from the disappointing email, Miss Ede is splashing out on tattoo removal in the hope that getting rid of it will let her move on with her life.

'I don't want it anymore,' she explains. I'm not part of the Mars One programme any more so I want rid of it. That's them gone.

'I'm not going to go to Mars. I'm staying here instead. I've got so much more to give. I can't do it on Mars so I'll continue here on Earth.'