A FUNERAL director completed a gruelling seven day trek up Mount Kilimanjaro, raising more than £19,000 for charity.

The African mountain stands at 19,341ft above sea level which Dave Fowles, of Fowles Funeral Services, Winsford, faced this September.

During the gruelling trek he said the generosity of people, and the love of his family and friends helped him complete the task.

Dave said: “I kept a photo in my pocket from my boys and the St. Christopher they had given me around my neck, whenever I felt like quitting, and there were a few times, that was my drive upwards.”

The trip was self-funded by Dave so all the money donated could go to his chosen charities.

The children’s cancer charity CLIC Sargent was selected after Dave saw the incredible work they do.

He previously raised £10,000 for them in 2009 after trekking in Peru.

This trip also raised money for Over St. Johns Primary School, who have been educating his family for over four generations, and St. Luke’s Hospice, based in Winsford.

Dave’s final total has obliterated the £12,000 he told the Guardian in August he was aiming to raise.

After catching the trekking bug it was his dream to climb Kilimanjaro, but he experienced some bouts of nausea and dizziness on the high altitude of summit night.

But said it was nothing compared to what the people at CLIC Sargent and St. Luke’s Hospice go through each day.

The seven day trek – six days up one day down – was supervised by the team that helped the film crew up and down Everest for the 2015 movie of the same name.

Dave said: “My personal goal was achieved, I was at my physical and mental limit. I just broke down and cried when I saw the summit sign, I’d done it.”

The funeral director trained for 12 months, taking part in intense gym sessions three to four times a week, and weekend treks through the Lake and Peak District.

He was supervised on the trek by the same team who took famous faces, Chris Moyles and Cheryl Cole, to the summit in 2009 for Comic Relief.

Dave’s full story can be read on his blog via fowlesfuneralservices.com