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

All Saints Church of England Primary School’s John Myers, 45, completed the 75-mile hike in temperatures of -25C and 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 debilitating degenerative disease suffered by his seven-year-old daughter Mia.

She was diagnosed with the genetic disorder at the age of three and now has difficulty walking.

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

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

The 12-day trek took him from Lukla in Nepal to the base camp of 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 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 twelve 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.”

But 5,000 miles from home, he still had a reminder of the day job.

Pupils at the Tamar Way primary school, where Mr Myers has been headteacher since September, wove him a friendship bracelet to wear throughout the trek.

Teachers, parents, pupils and heads of neighbouring schools all sponsored him to complete the feat.

But the biggest praise came from his number one fan.

“Mia is the loveliest, sweetest little girl and is really proud of what I did,” Mr Myers said.