A BANKING director from the Isle of Man has raised more than £3,500 for a Manx charity by climbing Mount Kilimanjaro.

Barry Williams, who works for the Isle of Man office of the Cayman National Bank, fulfilled his lifetime ambition to climb the mountain in Tanzania to mark his 50th birthday.

Along with 25 others from the Island he completed the expedition on October 7 and decided to raise money for The Children's Centre.

Barry said: "It was a pleasure to be involved in this trip of a lifetime, along with a group of like-minded individuals, whilst helping such a worthwhile charity as the Children's Centre.

"It was undoubtedly the most challenging thing I have ever had to do and was much much tougher than expected."

Barry spent months training to attain optimum fitness but said he did not expect to experience such extreme conditions during the climb.

He said: "Six days under canvas in sub zero temperatures with no running water and a complete lack of sleep is no preparation for an eight hour climb of over 1,500m in the dark.

"I was so exhausted at the top that I had to be helped back down the mountain to summit camp - this took 3 hours - in preparation for a further three hour hike back to our overnight camp."

Friends, family and colleagues supported Barry including Stuart Dack, chief executive and president of Cayman National Group, who presented Barry with a cheque for £500 to match staff donations.

Barry concluded: "It was a great experience, but not one that I will be repeating too soon.

"I am however enormously thankful to all those who supported me and who helped make the trip so rewarding and worthwhile."