A SELFLESS Stourbridge foster carer who was unable to walk as a child says she can’t believe she made it to the top of Britain’s highest peak as part of a charity challenge.

Cherie Didlick, of Amblecote, conquered Ben Nevis on Saturday May 17 on a fundraising hike organised by Love 2 Give fundraising trust which helps needy children and young adults.

It was the third time the charity had organised the trek but the adventure was a first for 38-year-old Cherie who was paralysed from the age of two until she was ten, following an accident.

Defying doctors who predicted she would never walk again – Cherie managed to get back on her feet after intensive physiotherapy but was left with arthritis and having to wear a steel brace on her left leg and wrist, so scaling 4,409-foot Ben Nevis in the Scottish Highlands was the most enduring challenge she has ever faced.

Brave Cherie said: “I still don't think it has sunk in that I made it to the top, although my body is still telling me I did. I can't thank everyone enough for their kind words and all the motivation they gave me to get me there.

"It was a long, hard trek and the weather was atrocious."

The mum-of-two, who has also been a foster carer for the last four years, even had to endure a trip to A and E the following day as the pressure of the walk uprooted one of her toenails and it became infected and had to be removed.

But she said of the challenge: "I'm glad I did it - it was an absolutely amazing experience and I really wanted to raise awareness of the charity as the work they do is invaluable."

Cherie, who works at Sainsbury's Amblecote, has raised around £500 for the Love 2 Give charity, which was founded in 2013 by Black Country boxing promoter Pete Jackson and businessman Steve Grove.

Determined Cherie was part of a team of around 30 people who completed the 11-hour trek - the proceeds of which will go towards Love 2 Give's project to create a sensory garden at Acorn Lodge day centre, Oldbury, which helps children with severe physical disabilities.

Anyone wishing to boost Cherie's sponsorship can do so online at www.love2give.org.uk/pages/Cherie/ or to find out more about Love 2 Give check out www.love2give.org.uk/