A Great Broughton man called his wife to say he was on top of the world – literally!

Mick Allen, 37, of Church Meadows, was the first person from his team to summit Everest last Sunday morning and he had it all to himself for more than 10 minutes until the others arrived.

Maria Allen said: “I couldn’t believe it. The phone rang and he shouted: I’m on the summit!”

His main goal had been to summit but he had also wanted to see if could do so without oxygen. He got just beyond the final camp, Camp 3 (8,300m) before having to succumb.

Speaking from Base Camp this week, the father of three said: “The push to Camp 3 without oxygen totally wiped me out. I had very little energy left slumped in our tent at 8,300m after taking almost eight hours to climb 650m.

“Amazingly I had a great phone connection with home from Camp 3 and ended up breaking down when speaking to my wife and sons. How could I continue without oxygen, never had I been so exhausted!

“Maria told me to start using oxygen (the summit was the goal) I told her I loved them all and would make a decision after some food and rest.”

Mick battled on but felt awful and was worried he had frostbite. “After two hours we reached our first obstacle, a 15m vertical rock wall which required climbing a fixed rope, standard stuff but as I arrived still gasping I realised I couldn’t feel my feet. It was like having lead weights attached to my ankles, I could see my crampons on the rock but couldn’t feel them connect. I knew then that I was in trouble!”

Oxygen made all the difference. “After 10 minutes I began to wiggle my toes, the effects of the oxygen were amazing.

“Another 10 minutes and I was up and climbing the wall, energy renewed, feeling great. There was no sense of failure just a strong determination to climb this mountain.

“Another 60 minutes and I was on the NE ridge under a beautiful full moon. I looked below and could see Al’s and Phurba’s head torch slowly lurching up in the darkness. I was faster now under the oxygen and continued alone, forging the trail to be the first on the summit.”

He is due home in the next few days. Maria said: “We’re all really looking forward to seeing him. The whole community has been so supportive, it’s been great.”

Mick has raised more than £6,600 for Cash for Kids.