Norwich amputee Kevin Francis completes Kilimanjaro climb

Kevin Francis, who lost his right leg after a car crash 18 years ago, said the ascent of Kilimanjaro was even tougher than he ever could have expected.

He had to approach each obstacle differently (Image: Kevin Francis)

The 43-year-old, a senior tax advisor at Larking Gowen in Norwich, hiked for five days to reach the summit but would spend a sixth hiking for 13 hours.  

Kevin said: “It was a long, tough night, climbing over very steep and loose volcanic scree.  

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Kevin reached the summit at 8am (Image: Kevin Francis)

“The walk felt as though it was going on forever with the top of the mountain hidden by the darkness. 

“Thankfully at about 5.30am the sun started to appear, and we could see that we were getting close to our target.  

He is very proud to have completed the difficult climb (Image: Kevin Francis)

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“Before too long we reached the rim of the volcano at Stella Point and finally, at about 8am, after a much gentler incline around the rim, I reached the highest point of Uhuru Peak!” 

One of Kevin’s biggest tests came on the fourth morning as he was faced with the steep climb up the Barranco wall.  

Kevin Francis has been challenging himself since his became an amputee 18 years ago (Image: Kevin Francis)

The large rocks and narrow paths meant that Kevin had to assess each obstacle in turn, deciding whether to walk up on his crutches, use the rocks for support or turn around and pull himself up to sit on the rocks.  

Mount Kilimanjaro is the tallest mountain in the African Continent (Image: PA)

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The final morning, on Friday, September 22, saw a six-hour downhill walk back down through the rainforest, where the rocky path had become extremely muddy due to rain.

It is the tallest mountain on the African continent (Image: Kevin Francis)

Kevin, who has raised £5,500 for Parkinson's UK at justgiving.com through various challenges, said he is not in a hurry to do a similar challenge but is proud of his achievement.

He added: “It took me 18 years since amputation to get to this stage, but I hope to help challenge perceptions of what an amputee can achieve.” 

He has been an amputee for 18 years (Image: Kevin Francis)