TREKKING for up to eight hours a day to heights of 4,000m across the Himalayas, with temperatures plummeting to -15C is tough, but nothing will deter Lisa Vickers from raising £2,500 for breast cancer research when she sets off for Nepal today.

Lisa, 32, of Bishop Auckland, an administrator in the teaching company centre at Durham University, has been in training since September to complete the trek for Breakthrough Breast Cancer with 38 other hikers.

Yesterday, she said she felt both excited and anxious by the prospect.

"It's something I've wanted to do for a long time and this was the perfect opportunity to tackle something quite challenging, but for a good cause.

"When you sit and read what you've let yourself in for you feel a bit anxious but I'm really excited about it."

She has had sponsorship from local companies including £250 from Bishop Auckland College and £100 from E & F Fibreglass in Hartlepool