AN Askam woman is planning to take on the adventure of a lifetime and hike up Africa's highest mountain.

Adele Postlethwaite, 26, of Marsh Street, will climb Mount Kilimanjaro this summer for Childreach International, a charity which runs projects in schools and communities across the world.

More used to seeing Black Combe on the horizon, Miss Postlethwaite will be busy collecting sponsors and completing training walks in the Lake District before flying out to Tanzania.

Her motivation for the trek is because she wants to do something incredible to mark starting a nursing course at the University of Cumbria later this year.

She said: "I start at the end of September so I wanted to do something in the time I've got until then.

"I've never done anything like it. It's going to the biggest challenge I can do.

"It's the highest mountain in Africa. I want to be able to say I did it."

Miss Postlethwaite is due to complete the challenge with a friend in August and the trek is expected to last around six days.

While in Tanzania, she will visit a local school which has been supported by Childreach International over the years.

She is aiming to collect £2,895 in sponsorship and is around a third of the way towards meeting her goal so far.

Anybody who wants to donate money towards Miss Postlethwaite's challenge can click here .

Mount Kilimanjaro - facts and figures

- Kilimanjaro is the highest 'free-standing' mountain in the world, with free-standing meaning not being part of a mountain range. It rises 4,877 metres from its base to 5,895 metres above sea level.

- The mountain is a dormant volcano and is made up of three volcanic cones called Shira, Kibo and Mawenzi. Mawenzi and Shira are extinct but Kibo could erupt again.

- The last major eruption was 360,000 years ago.

- The average temperature on the top of the mountain is approximately -7°C.

- Roughly 20,000 people take on the mountain each year and altitude sickness is the number one reason for people turning back.