A Liversedge man has scaled new heights for the Bradford Millennium Scanner Appeal.

Steve Womersley, 33, was part of a team of eight who tackled the 20,000-ft Island's Peak in Nepal.

He battled with altitude sickness and freezing conditions to complete the challenge in six days to successfully go further and higher than any other fundraiser so far for the £1million T&A-backed campaign.

"The peak is part of one of the biggest mountain ranges in the world so it was quite a challenge, " said Mr Womersley, a self-employed graphic designer.

"My friends and family thought I was mad as I've never done anything like it before.

"But I was in a group of professional climbers including Chris Bonnington's brother Gerald and one man who had been up Everest twice, so I was in good hands.

"I'd been climbing in the Lake District and done the three peaks challenge but this was a real challenge for me."

The group had to cope with changing weather and climbing in the dark. "It started off very warm but as we got higher, the temperatures just dropped," he said.

"The worst thing was the altitude sickness. It gives you terrible headaches and literally zaps you of energy.

"When we got up to the summit, the conditions were well below freezing and there were literally vertical walls of ice to climb.

"We were all roped together and had ice axes and spikes on boots to help with the climb.

"But you tend to forget all the low points of the trip and just remember the incredible feeling of sitting on top of the summit."

Steve managed to raise £500 for the MRI appeal despite only finding out he was going on the trip a month before.

Linda Pollard, chairman of Bradford Hospitals NHS Trust, said: "No one has ever climbed this high for the appeal and we're very grateful. The fact that he'd never done anything like this before makes it even more amazing."

"I've really got the climbing bug now and I'm determined to do it again," Steve said, "Perhaps I'll try Everest next."

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