A Bodmin man has taken on the challenge of a lifetime to help raise funds for the Cornwall Air Ambulance Trust.

Maurice Bennett climbed Mount Kilimanjaro with his friend Shane Julian, from Wadebridge, in aid of the charity.

The pair have now presented a cheque for over £11,500 towards the operation of the county’s air ambulances.

The friends had wanted to climb the highest mountain in Africa for years and finally decided to give it a go back in 2019.

Maurice and Shane chose to raise money for the air ambulance charity and signed up through Global Adventure Challenges.

In preparation they did a lot of cycling, hiked the Cornish cliffpaths and even climbed Snowdon.

Due to the covid-19 pandemic, the trip got delayed, but after three years in the making, they finally set off on their adventure in September. Maurice and Shane were part of a group of 25 people, joined by support crew and medics. Kilimanjaro, a dormant volcano in Tanzania, is 5,895m high.

The 11-day challenge included seven days of hiking through a diverse range of ecosystems, including savannah, cloud forest, moorland and alpine desert, to reach the snow-capped summit.

Maurice said: “It was a bit harder than I thought it was going to be, you’re on the side of a mountain sleeping with rocks underneath you.

“But the highs are the people there doing it with you, supporting you, the laughs and the giggles.

“It’s mentally challenging, physically it’s long days and you’re not getting a lot of sleep. The summit day is probably the hardest day because you’re starting at midnight and walking in the dark and all you can see in front of you is people’s feet. But the team there made so much difference and were singing the local songs, it made such a difference.”

Shane said: “There wasn’t much sleep, but the high was the group thing, the more people there are doing it the better. We made some really good friends and just helped each other, if somebody needed help we’d just help, gets things for people and carry things for people.

“Sleeping and the tent were tough, but the walking was brilliant. You just don’t understand the altitude as you never see it, weatherwise it was cold some days, hot some days, wet some days, much like Cornwall.”

The trek, which followed the Machame Route, allowed gradual acclimatisation to the altitude as the group made their way up the peak.

Along the way, they encountered all weathers, terrain, hiked through night and day and stayed at various camps along the route to reach the highest point of the mountain, Uhuru Peak.

Maurice said: “Getting to the top was really good, the views from up there were amazing, then getting to the bottom was the main thing, knowing you’d completed it without any injuries.”

Shane said: “Getting to the summit was hard work, the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life, but coming back down it was more joyful knowing that we’d gotten to the top.”

Rob Foster, the fundraising officer for events and challenges at Cornwall Air Ambulance, said: “We are incredibly grateful for Shane and Maurice’s enormous fundraising feat, and what an incredible way to do it.

“To hear how a trip of a lifetime saw them create unforgettable memories, make lifelong friends and raise vital funds at the same time is amazing.

“By taking part in challenges like this you can help to fund more lifesaving missions across Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, so our crew can help people when they need it most.”