A MOTHER-OF-TWO has raised more than £4,000 for charity after successfully scaling Africa’s highest mountain.

Ann Bell, of Stamford Bridge, camped in temperatures of minus 15°C and survived severe oxygen deprivation to reach the 5,896-metre summit of Mount Kilimanjaro, in Tanzania.

The 48-year-old, who embarked on the six-day trek to raise funds for St Leonard’s Hospice, in York, said six hikers out of her group of 28 failed to make the top due to altitude sickness.

She said: “It was tough. The altitude was so strange. It didn’t give me headaches or sickness, but it just made me feel so tired.

“I could feel the energy drain out my feet every time I took a step.

“I was so pleased to get to the summit because there were six people out of our group of 28 that didn’t make it and three of those were young lads.”

She said on the morning they made a bid for the summit, they had to set off from the camp at 1am. “We were walking for 12 hours that day,” she said. “But the view at the top was fantastic.

“You could see for miles and we were really lucky because it was lovely and sunny at the top.” Ann, who works as an accounts assistant at Superbreak Mini Holidays, in Heworth, York, has raised around £4,200 to help fund the hospice’s work providing palliative care for people with life-threatening illnesses, such as cancer.

She raised the money through sponsorship, organising a jumble sale, selling quizzes and holding a tombola at York Designer Outlet.

She said: “When I started this, I was hoping for £2,000, so I’ve doubled that.

“It is such a worthwhile cause and everybody I’ve spoken to says how fantastic the hospice is.

“I’d like to thank everybody who has helped and supported me with my fundraising – without them, it would not have been possible”

It’s not too late to sponsor Ann. To donate money to St Leonard’s Hospice, log on to justgiving.com/annbell2.