A St Albans woman with a fear of heights attempted to climb Africa’s highest peak to raise money for a hospice.

Adeline Daly has raised £7,822 with her friend Sabine Schwaebisch for Helen and Douglas House children's hospice in Oxford.

She described the seven-day trek through wet, snow and very cold conditions as one of the biggest physical challenges of her life.

Adeline said: "We climbed Kilimanjaro in aid of Helen and Douglas House, a children's hospice in Oxford.

"I am petrified of heights. Little did I know I would have to battle through three miserable days of rain before we got there.

"Unfortunately the cold got the better of me and just 100 metres from the summit, after 8 hours of trekking, the guides took the decision to take me off the mountain.

"Overall it was an epic experience, and we definitely earned every penny we raised for a fantastic cause."

Adeline's friend Sabine has been a learning disability nurse at Helen and Douglas House for seven years.

She said: "I decided to do Kilimanjaro because it really pushed me out of my comfort zone while offering an achievable goal if I trained very hard.

"Achieving this for our children and families is a privilege and will stay with all of us forever."

One of the trekkers, Mike Illingworth, is the father of twin boys called Ben and Ollie, who were cared for by Helen and Douglas House. Both boys were born with a life-shortening condition - a metabolism disorder which causes significant neurological symptoms.

Sadly Ben passed away in October 2012, shortly before his 10th birthday, and Ollie then died in May 2018 at the age of 15.

Mike said: "I wanted to climb Kilimanjaro for the hospice in memory of my sons Ben and Ollie, to give something back for all the great work they did for my family and all of the families who rely on the service they provide.

"Thanks to the generosity of all the people who have supported me in this trek, this helped push me on, as well as supporting the charity in these difficult financial times."

To donate visit www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Sabine-Schwaebisch1