HE may not have been able to see one of the world's most spectacular views when he scaled Australia's Sydney Harbour Bridge but it is an experience that Tom McInulty will never forget.

Tom's daredevil climb would have tested anyone's courage and it is even more impressive considering that the 54-year-old is blind.

Tom had already planned to spend his Christmas holidays in Australia but then the chance came along for him to take part in the world-famous Sydney Harbour Bridge Climb.

He was accompanied by friends who helped by providing a running commentary. Tom was among 12 climbers who were taken right to the top of the legendary bridge.

Before he set off for his once-in-a-lifetime adventure, Tom, who lost his sight when he was 31, said: "I am not brilliant at heights so it is just as well that I cannot see!"

After climbing stairs and catwalks Tom and his fellow climbers journeyed through a tangle of hatchways and steel girders suspended above the traffic.

At the top they climbed between the arches to the summit, 134 metres above the water. The whole bridge experience took about three hours. Tom was wearing safety gear and had to get special clearance to do the climb.

Now with his feet firmly back on the ground he said: "It was the most nerve wracking thing I have ever done. I felt very vulnerable up there and wondered what the heck I was doing there. However, at the end I felt great that I had achieved the climb."

Tom said his imagination was running riot as he scaled the dizzy heights of the bridge.

The intrepid climber, who is Eye Clinic Patient Support Officer at Southampton General Hospital, also turned the bridge event into a fund-raiser for the Southampton Society for the Blind.

All the sponsorship money is yet to be counted but the final total is expected to run into hundreds of pounds.