A rescuer who lost his mum to breast cancer when he was just 16-years-old has conquered one of the world’s tallest mountains in her memory.

Jason Hill, a security guard from the University of Chester, has raised almost £5,000 after completing his challenge to reach the summit of Mt Kilimanjaro.

The dad-of-two, who is a member of the North East Wales Search and Rescue team, made the climb in aid of Breast Cancer Now as a tribute to his mum Louisa who lost her battle with the disease when she was 43.

Now 43 himself, Jason says his latest birthday brought back a lot of memories and made him realise just how young his mother was when she died.

He said: “I grew up with the disease after my mum was diagnosed when I was about seven and remember regularly getting pulled out of classes to go to Clatterbridge with her. Things were a lot different back then, now you can go in and have chemotherapy and come out later that day, my mum used to end up going in for six weeks at a time.

“Turning 43 made me realise how young my mum was, I’m married with children and she’s not been around to see that. I lost my dad to lung cancer as well nine years ago so the disease has had a huge impact on my life.

Jason, from Caerwys, described the climb up Kilimanjaro as one of the most “physically demanding” challenges of his life and says at one point he had to plea with a doctor to let him continue.

He said: “I had blurred vision and problems breathing. I had to beg him to let me keep going.

“I was certainly feeling the effects of altitude sickness but the drive to get to the summit at Uhura Peak for my mum Louisa was all the motivation I needed.”

Jason underwent 12 months intensive training for the climb and was one of the reasons he got involved in NEWSAR.

He added: “The year has been very positive for me.

“My Kilimanjaro challenge has led me to volunteer with NEWSAR which is a great and exciting addition to my life.

“It’s nice to think that this journey continues with such a great team and I can use my experience and new skills learnt to help our community.”

To sponsor Jason and help him achieve his £5,000 target for Breast Cancer Now visit www.justgiving.com/Jason-hill25/ .