AFTER scaling the highest mountain in Africa a Penarth man has raised more than £2,000 for charity.

Alex Fray chose to climb Mount Kilimanjaro in aid of the Special Care Infant Parent Support (SCIPS) as a thank you to hospital staff for caring for his newborn son.

Two-year-old Sam faced a battle to survive when he was born in November 2012.

After more than 30 hours of labour and a complicated delivery in theatre Sam wasn’t breathing when he was born, and he was rushed off into the Neonatal Unit at the University Hospital Wales.

His parents Alex and AnnMarie faced a nervous wait as he was checked over by hospital staff, but after he was given the all clear and four days in the Neonatal Unit little Sam was allowed to return home and the family haven’t looked back since.

Alex, who works as a network architect, said he wanted to raise money for the Neonatal Unit in the University Hospital Wales and set himself the challenge of climbing Mount Kilimanjaro.

Over the space of seven days he faced boiling temperatures in the day and sub-zero temperatures at night, as well as altitude sickness and sleep deprivation, as his team scaled the mountain.

After reaching the top of Mouth Kilimanjaro, which is more than 19,000 feet above sea level, he has now raised more than £2,400 for Special Care Infant Parent Support (SCIPS).

“Trekking was quite hard but when you reach altitude it’s so much harder,” he said.

“Day by day it wasn’t that different from six hours trekking in Brecon, but at 30 degrees when you haven’t slept for a week and at altitude it was quite difficult.”

After climbing into the early hours of the morning they reached the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro just before sunrise.

“That night was pretty horrible,” he said.

“You are trying to keep motivation and stay positive, but it was dark, windy and freezing cold.

“It was minus 22 degrees when we reached the top and my fingers went numb straight away.

“I had never felt cold like that before.”

He added: “It was such a relief to reach the top.

“Every day I had thought I have got to make it and do it.

“The views were absolutely phenomenal. It’s called the roof of Africa as you can see so far.”

Alex, of Countess Place, added that he was over the moon to raise more than £2,000 for charity.

“I set out to raise £1,000 and am really grateful to everyone that has donated.

“One of my friends works in the unit and they have been really supportive and told me what they can buy for that type of money.

“It was a bit of inspiration as I knew I couldn’t let them down.”

Alex can still be sponsored at http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/AlexFray