Engineer battles lack of oxygen on Everest trek

Ben Allan spent 12 days trekking to the base camp for Little Miracles

An engineer who trekked to Mount Everest base camp for charity has described battling against a lack of oxygen to achieve the feat.

Ben Allan, from Peterborough, has raised more than £2,500 for city charity Little Miracles, which supports families of children with disabilities.

He said he "couldn’t think of a better cause to support."

The charity said is its income relied almost entirely on voluntary donation and it was grateful for fundraising efforts such as Mr Allan’s for helping it to "keep going."

'So proud'

Mr Allan said: “The climb itself isn’t too hard, the scenery is great, and you get a real appreciation for just how insanely beautiful and rugged the landscape is in Nepal."

He said the trek took 12 days in total, with nine to 10 hours of walking, mostly uphill, every day.

“The most difficult thing to overcome is the lack of oxygen. It felt like I was constantly starved of oxygen and had to hyperventilate to breathe normally," he said.

He said highlights of the trip were the scenery, rope-bridge crossings and base camp itself.

Mr Allan’s employer Barratt and David Wilson Homes, which has donated £1,000 as part of its employee fund-matching, said it was “so proud of Ben and his team".

Georgia Handley of Little Miracles said it was "incredibly grateful" to Mr Allan.

“Fundraising events like Ben’s allow us to continue to be here for families who have children with disabilities, additional needs and life-limiting conditions, many of whom struggle both financially and emotionally to access the support they need in the community," she said.