A man who was minutes away from completing the three peaks challenge has blamed his failure on his short-sighted decision to embark on the challenge at the end of the summer.

Paul Rowson, of East India Dock Road, attempted the difficult feat of climbing three of the UK’s highest mountains - Snowdon, Scaffell Pike and Ben Nevis - in 24 hours, to raise money for Asthma UK.

Paul tackled Ben Nevis, but saw his glasses slide off the side of the mountain on his way to the summit.

He battled on and completed Scaffel Pike, but his efforts were ultimately thwarted as a combination of bad weather and his bad eye-sight meant he was forced to turn back just 45 minutes from the summit of Snowdon.

He said: “It was a bit of a disappointment, but if you saw the conditions, there were not not many people out on the mountain that day.

“I lost some of my confidence to continue after I lost my glasses.”

However, he is now promising to complete the challenge next year if he can hit the �1,000 fundraising target he set for himself, promising that he has learnt his lesson and will embark on the trip during the summer months next time.

“I’ve raised �600 so far, but the page is still open and I would love to get it up to �1,000. If I can do that I’ll do the challenge again next year, even though I hated every minute of it!

“People might enjoy seeing me suffer again!”

Paul, who suffered from asthma as a child, said he appreciated how “debilitating” the condition could be, but said he may choose to raise money for a different organisation next year.

Paul Rowson can be sponsored at www.justgiving.com/britishmountains.