A fearless Keswick mountaineer has spoken of how he was "humbled" by the £40,000 donated in support of his epic triathlon last weekend.

Tim Mosedale, 49, of Leonard Street, cycled the 112-mile Fred Whitton route, swam the length of Derwentwater and back, and ran the 66-mile Bob Graham Round back to back in under 48 hours.

The climber completed the gruelling test after 50 days of intense training to raise cash for the children of three Nepalese staff who died at Everest base camp during the recent earthquake.

Tim, who was scaling the south side of Everest when disaster struck, said he couldn't have beaten the "brutal" experience without those who provided support.

He said: "I'm a little bit jaded but nobody said it was going to be easy and it was my own silly idea.

"The whole event was bigger than I'd anticipated and the more training I did the bigger it became.

"I realised I hadn't done enough preparation but it went really well anyway and I had a good time doing it.

"The cycling was just awesome, seeing a fantastic sunrise, then getting out on the lake while it was flat and calm was idyllic and provided a moment for a bit of reflection.

"Legs one and two of the Bob Graham round were fine then leg three was absolutely brutal, but when the sun came up I did suddenly get reenergised.

"I'm really chuffed actually, I keep on saying that I'm humbled and I was totally in awe of the support.

"Whether it was people running or cycling alongside me or meeting me with sandwiches, it's all very well me putting one foot in front of the other but I couldn't have done it without those people."

The money will help educate the children of the three men and care for their families, a fact which Tim declared himself extremely proud of.

He added: "I'm very happy with that but it was once in a lifetime thing, although I'd love if somebody else rose to the challenge and did it.

"There's a spectrum of people saying I'm a complete nutter all the way through to sort of awe at what I've gone off and done.

"Hopefully people are either inspired to give money or to go away and do their own challenges."

Tim, who is married to Ali, and has two children Grace and Max, was equipped by Keswick Mountain Bikes, Needle Sport and George Fisher in Keswick.

To donate to Tim, visit his online fund-raising page at www.justgiving.com/timmosedale.