A DIDCOT headteacher raised £4,000 to aid his disabled daughter by trekking to the base camp of Mount Everest.

All Saints C of E Primary School head John Myers, 45, completed the 120-km hike in temperatures of –25°C across some of the toughest terrain in the world.

He vowed to undertake the challenge to raise money for research into Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA), a degenerative disease suffered by his seven-year-old daughter Mia.

She was diagnosed with the illness at the age of three, and now has difficulty walking.

SMA, which affects one in 6,000 babies, starves nerve cells of vital protein, causing muscles to gradually waste away. There is no known cure.

In October 2007, Mr Myers walked for 12 days along the Great Wall of China to raise money for SMA charity The Jennifer Trust, but wanted to take on a more extreme challenge this year.

The 12-day trek took him from Lukla in Nepal to the base camp on the world's highest mountain.

He said: “It was the most physically and mentally demanding thing I have ever done in my life.

“I am proud of my achievement, but absolutely shattered. The people are lovely and the scenery is incredible, but, to be honest, all I was thinking about was keeping on putting one foot in front of the other.”

He said night-time temperatures plummeted so low, there was rarely any running water to wash with. In 12 days, he lost a stone in weight.

“It was very, very rough terrain,” he said. “We were following paths, but you have to put your feet down very carefully. It was right up to the edge of what I was physically capable of doing.”

Pupils at the Tamar Way primary school, where Mr Myers has been head since September, wove him a friendship bracelet to wear on the trek. Teachers, parents, pupils and heads of neighbouring schools all sponsored him.

He added: “Mia is the loveliest, sweetest little girl and is really, really proud of what I did.”