CLARETS fan Mark Davidson has failed in an attempt to fly his Burnley football club shirt on the top of Asia's killer mountain, the 13,455 feet Mount Kinabalu.

Mark, a Burnley season ticket holder for 27 years, has taken his claret and blue colours all over the world and has just returned from an attempt to take it to the top of Borneo's biggest mountain.

It was on Mount Kinabalu earlier this year that British girl 17-year-old Ellie James became separated from her parents and died.

Mark, who suffers from a mild form of cerebral palsy, said that was a sobering thought as he prepared for the last leg of the climb.

After resting at 11,000 feet in a hut where Ellie's parents had waited for news of their daughter, Mark made a 2am start to the summit.

He said: "I put on extra layers of clothing including my Burnley shirt for the fight against the cold.

"The only light was from head torches.

"The first things to hit me were the cold and damp.

"When the path disappeared and we hit the rock face I knew I couldn't get any higher.

"I tried on a couple of occasions but could not get enough strength in my weaker right arm to use the rope. Even though it was a battle lost I knew it wasn't something that was worth risking my life for."

Mark said the trip was a wonderful experience but tinged with disappointment that he had not taken his Burnley shirt all the way to the top -- especially as Burnley were at the top of the league.

Mark has flown the Burnley flag all over the world, including the summit of Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa, hillside trekking in Thailand and at international landmarks throughout Europe, including the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Colosseum in Rome, the leaning tower of Pisa and the Acropolis in Athens.

During his journeys he has raised money for the Scope charity.

Mark has been a Burnley fan all his life and a season ticket holder for 27 years.

Originally from Simonstone, where his parents still live, Mark now lives in London where he works as a freelance computer programmer.

He attended school at St John's, Padiham, St Augustine's, Billington, Accrington and Rossendale College and Huddersfield Polytechnic.

He started work in computer programming four years ago after spending a year in the United States.

He travels to all Burnley home weekend games and also attends away matches whenever possible.