A WOMAN will be forgoing turkey and presents by spending Christmas Day in the foothills of Kilimanjaro.

Hazel Burlison, from Esh Winning, near Durham, is climbing Africa's highest mountain, with husband Glyn, to raise money for charity.

The couple fly to Africa today and expect to arrive at the mountain on Christmas Day.

The climb starts on Boxing Day, followed by four days of slow climbing to get used to the altitude. On the fifth day, the climbers expect to reach the volcano crater rim, more than 19,000ft above sea level.

Mrs Burlison, who is a customer advisor with Northumbrian Water, will face temperatures as low as -20C.

But she is no stranger to adventure, having swum in a shark tank and walked across hot coals for charity.

This time she will be raising money for WaterAid, the charity supported by her employer which helps to provide clean, safe water to the world's poorest people.

Mrs Burlison is 40 next year and said she wanted to do something big to mark the occasion.

She said: "WaterAid is a really good charity. In this country we tend to take excellent quality tap water for granted.

"It's so easy to turn on a tap and not realise that more than one billion people don't have access to clean water. I spent 18 months living and working in South Africa, and I've seen what it's like to live in rural areas.

"People - and it's mostly women and children - have to walk for miles in the searing heat to get water."

After the climb, the couple will enjoy a few days rest in Zanzibar, before heading home.

Kilimanjaro, in north-eastern Tanzania, is the tallest free-standing mountain in the world, rising 15,100ft from its base.

It includes the highest peak in Africa at 19,340ft above sea level, with a 5ft wide crater on top.

Anyone wishing to sponsor the climbers can log onto www.justgiving.com/hazelburlison