Two Blackburn men have reached the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro after a “gruelling” challenge which pushed them to their physical and emotional limits.

Lee Cunningham and Dermot Gallagher, from Feniscowles, hiked for seven days to complete their challenge and raised more than £11,000 for Alzheimer's Society.

Waking up throughout the night to continue their hike, both felt the urge to give up at times, but they motivated each other to push through and finish the epic challenge.

Standing at 5,895 metres tall, Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania is the highest peak in Africa and the tallest free-standing mountain in the world.

The view from the second nightThe view on the second night (Image: Lee Cunningham)

Lee said: “It was life-changing and something I would love to do again.

"So many people have asked me about it and it is difficult to know how to put it into words, and photos don’t do it justice.

“It was emotional when we reached the top. It was nine months in the making and a lot of blood sweat and tears along the way and trying to raise that money.”

The pair have chosen the charity as Lee lost his grandfather to dementia in 2017 and his other grandfather was diagnosed with the disease last year.

Dermot’s grandmother has also recently been diagnosed with dementia.

Dermot half way up the mountainLee halfway up the mountain (Image: Lee Cunningham)

Lee added: “It is for the Alzheimer’s Society which is so close to us both and it is a great feeling to raise that amount of money for them.

“It was a fantastic experience and challenge for us but we have done it for Alzheimer's. We can’t get away from that.

“It is not for us, it is not for anybody, it is about the amazing work the charity does.”

Despite struggles on the way up Lee and Dermot both remained motivated by the amount of money they were raising for the charity.

Hitting their target of £10,000 on the start day of the walk they have now exceeded it raising £11,752 and are now determined to hit the £12,000 mark.

Lee added: “When we started we set out for £10,000 and we thought that was a big push.”

They now plan on tackling Machu Picchu in Peru in 2026 and were grateful to the 41 porters who helped them throughout their journey.

Machu Picchu is a 15th-Century Inca citadel located 2,430 metres up in the Andes, and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the New Seven Wonders of the World.