A MALTON man is in last minute training for a once-in-a-lifetime trip to climb Mount Kilimanjaro.

Adrian James, 44, said he could not turn down the chance to join the team on the fundraising trip next month, despite the fact he has never been to Africa and has no climbing experience.

Adrian, who is a customer services manager at Vencomatic, a firm which supplies free range equipment for the UK’s poultry industry, will be part of the team of climbers from one of the companies he supplies – LJ Fairburn.

“Taking on this challenge is huge for me. I’ve never been to Africa and it’s really hard to know what to expect," he said.

"I’m going to be outside my comfort zone and am not even sure if my legs will keep going and how I will react to the oxygen-thin air. But I’m sure the hard work will all be worth it when I have a beer at the end and have wonderful memories to last me a lifetime.”

Adrian, who is married with two children, has been in training which has included swimming 50 lengths of his local pool, walking trips in the Lake District and regular bike rides round Ampleforth.

The team will be flying out to Tanzania later this week for the climb which starts on September 1. They are aiming to raise £35,000 for Farm Africa, the charity that is working with smallholder farmers in eastern Africa to boost agricultural productivity as a sustainable way of tackling hunger.

Before they strap their boots on for the trek to the top of Africa, the team will have the chance to visit some of Farm Africa’s projects in Tanzania.

LJ Fairburn is climbing Kilimanjaro as part of its support for Food for Good, a major UK food industry campaign to raise funds through a series of challenges to support the work of Farm Africa.

You can donate to the team’s fundraising at justgiving.com/AdrianandSamsKilimanjaroClimb