A MAN climbed Mount Kilimanjaro to raise funds for the hospice that cared for his dying wife.

Joe Attridge, 51, from Enfield, conquered the Tanzanian peak, the highest mountain in Africa, raising £6,000 for North London Hospice.

The organisation is raising money to open a new day centre in Barrowell Green.

Mr Attridge has volunteered at the Finchley-based day centre and the inpatient unit since his wife, Anna, was cared for there four years ago.

He said: “My dear wife was a patient there in February 2006.

"She spent her last two weeks of life there where she felt safe, at ease, loved and cared for. It was like a home from home.

"I saw how caring and supportive the staff are. The hospice is very much about life and making the most of the time left.”

Day centre patients presented Mr Attridge with a scrapbook filled with messages of goodwill.

Mr Attridge added: “It was very moving. If there was a time when I felt like quitting on the mountain, I just thought of them all and knew that I couldn't let them down.

"Even after the climb, strangers have been stopping me in the street to give me sponsor money. I have been overwhelmed with support.”