CLIMBING the UK's three highest mountains one after the other is a hard enough task even for someone at the peak of their fitness.

But only ten months after undergoing a double heart bypass operation, a Hampshire woman completed the Three Peaks Challenge to raise £1,000 for charity.

Patsy Attwood, of Knowle Lane, Horton Heath, near Eastleigh, was driven 1,000 miles, hiked a combined distance of 30 miles, and climbed nearly 12,000 feet to successfully scale Ben Nevis in Scotland, Scafell Pike in England and Snowdon in Wales in a weekend.

Ben Nevis at 4,406 feet, Scafell Pike at 3,210 feet and Snowdon at 3,560 feet, form the gruelling but legendary challenge, completed by thousands of hill-walking enthusiasts each year.

Patsy, 50, undertook the trip with other members of the Hampshire Tennis and Health Club, where she was exercising following her operation in August last year at Southampton General Hospital.

She said: "I thought I would do it as a personal challenge, and it would give me something to aim for.

"We set off for Scotland on a Friday night, finished on Snowdon on Sunday afternoon, and were home at 5am on the Monday morning.

"The highlight for me was getting to the top of Ben Nevis, being at the top of the first mountain."

She added: "My legs were gone at the end of it and I could not move, but I was on a high, it felt incredible. It was a great team effort and I loved it."

Patsy presented a cheque for £557.93 to Wessex Heartbeat fundraising manager Peter Wickham at the Wessex Nuffield Hospital in Chandler's Ford where she is a ward hostess.

The remainder of the money has been given to the Lighthouse Club, a benevolent fund for the building industry.