AN amateur mountain hiker has conquered Africa's highest peak to raise £900 for the prevention of malaria among some of the country's most impoverished.

Teresa Nevard, of Francis Avenue, St Albans, braved altitude sickness, exhaustion and freezing temperatures to scale Mount Kilimanjaro in aid of the Against Malaria Foundation.

Supported by close friend Naomia Mwasanbili, who survived a deadly bout of the disease while visiting family in Tanzania a few years ago, the 24-year-old former psychiatric practitioner has raised enough money to buy 307 life-saving malaria nets for families in subsaharan Africa.

Every year, one to three million people worldwide die from the disease, with 70 per cent of victims under the age of five.

Teresa hopes the protective nets - one of the most effective forms of prevention - will go some way in helping to lower the risk of the disease among Africa's poorest people.

The gruelling five-and-half day ascent took the girls on a 65-mile journey, walking some seven or eight hours each day towards the summit at 19,340 feet.

"The summit night was horrendous," Teresa said.

"We had been climbing for five days for seven or eight hours a day. We were woken up at midnight and then endured 7.5 hours of walking steeply up a scree slope, absolutely freezing so our toes and fingers were numb.

"It was hard to breathe and every step was a big effort due to the extremely high altitude.

"We saw some other people being ill and collapsing and being shoved upwards by their guides - there was 7.5 hours of this.

"Several times I thought that physically and mentally I wouldn't make it."

When they finally reached Uhuru peak, Teresa said she burst into tears from both elation and relief.

"It was totally worth the massive struggle to arrive at Uhuru peak.

"Suddenly the energy flooded back. It's hard to describe the exhilaration except to say that it's probably the hardest and most enjoyable thing I've ever done."

After a few moments to swallow the fresh air and appreciate the scenery upon Africa's tallest mountain, the girls embarked upon a two-day descent.

Teresa, who has now returned to the UK after three weeks in Tanzania, concluded: "We couldn't walk properly for about four days after this. Despite all that I would do it all over again and already wondering what my next mountain challenge might be."