Graeme Barlow, 43, raised £20,000 for two good causes that are close to his heart. The money will be split between Help for Heroes and the Rosemere Cancer Centre, in Preston, which provided "fantastic" care to his late father in law.

Graeme is a director of the family firm Barlow Trailers, in Leyland. They are the main Lancashire distributor for Ifor Williams Trailers who topped up the proceeds by donating £500 to be shared between the two organisations.

According to Graeme, who served as a dog trainer in the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, conquering Kilimanjaro was the most difficult thing he’d done in his life.

Reaching the summit of the 19,335-feet high Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania took five and half gruelling days of completely contrasting climates, including humid rain forest heat and snow blizzards.

Graeme said: "I knew it wasn’t going to be easy but I didn’t realise it was going to be as difficult as it was. Although I run three miles every morning, you get used to your home comforts."

"At the bottom of the mountain, it’s a 100 plus degrees as you would expect in Africa and then you go through the rain forest which is hot and sticky. After that we had to trek over volcanic rock and we encountered high winds and blizzards – you experience every kind of weather you can imagine."

"The first three days were hard but the last two days were horrible."

"It’s 18 years since I came out of the army and although I’m quite fit I’m obviously not in peak condition."

"I got altitude sickness at 4,500 metres and it should have got worse as I got higher up – but it didn’t for some reason the doctor couldn’t explain and when I reached the top I was okay."

"It was a great experience and the money is going to two really good causes."

"My father in law, Colin Green, died of cancer in 2008 and a good friend of mine was diagnosed with a brain tumour."

"Both were treated at the Rosemere Centre. Sadly my father in law passed away but my mate, Chris Hitchen is still kicking about."

"Help for Heroes is a very important charity and it’s also very close to my heart. A good friend of mine got his legs blown off in Northern Ireland and we still keep in touch. People like him deserve all the help they can get."

"The fact that we’ve raised £20,000 makes all the effort worthwhile – but I won’t be going back to Kilimanjaro. It was a once in lifetime experience as far as I’m concerned."

The contribution of Ifor Williams Trailers was presented by their Business Development Manager, Peter Nesbitt. He said:

"It was a fantastic achievement by Graeme and the two others. No matter how fit and strong you are, to get to that altitude takes enormous will power. Only two out of three attempts succeed in making it to the summit. Graeme is a very determined person and that was pivotal to him getting to the top."

Pictured is Graeme Barlow with Peter Nesbitt, Business Development Manager at Ifor Williams Trailers.

Graeme Barlow (right) with his cousin, Colin Barlow, at the summit of Kilimanjaro.

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News » Graeme raises mountain of cash climbing Kilimanjaro