A BLACK Country banker has handed over more than £11,000 to Mary Stevens Hospice following his latest fundraising challenge.

Mandeep Rajput, who has become something of a local celebrity since he appeared as a contestant on Come Dine With Me, presented a cheque for £11,200 to the Oldswinford hospice after completing a climb to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro last month.

The trek to the summit of Africa's highest peak was the latest in a series of 'bucket list' style challenges he has been undertaking to help raise funds for causes close to his heart.

In 2014 he cycled from London to Paris which raised more than £7,000 for the Stourbridge charity - and he previously, in 2012, completed the London Marathon to raise cash for another hospice.

His latest fundraising feat, however, was the toughest and most poignant yet as the 42-year-old - who grew up in Dudley - was hit with the shock news that his dad had died the week before he was due to fly out to Tanzania.

Despite the tragic news - Mandeep, who lives in Tividale and works as a private development manager for the Yorkshire & Clydesdale Bank in Birmingham, went ahead with the mountainous challenge and carried a picture of his father with him up to the 16,000-feet summit.

He said: "My father was very adventurous and always inspired me to follow my dreams and challenges especially for charity and he would have wanted me to go."

The final few minutes as he neared the summit were a little shaky though as altitude sickness set in but he said: "After around 15 minutes I was ok, as I had a large picture of my father with me giving me that extra drive to get to the summit."

He added: "In total I have raised around £25k over the three challenges, with this one being the highest amount raised to date and the toughest challenge to date as we trekked for an average of eight hours per day in temperatures as high as 30 degrees Celsius and as low as -8 on the summit."

Charlotte Schofield, Mary Stevens Hospice's head of fundraising and lottery, said: “It’s such an emotional story. We were heartbroken for Mandeep when we received the news about his beloved Dad, and at that point for us the event went out of our minds completely.

"So when Mandeep phoned to say he was on his way to the airport, and he was going to go and conquer his mountain in his Dad’s memory, we were just blown away, both by his commitment to the challenge and his incredible strength of character.

"What he’s achieved is absolutely outstanding, and we can’t thank him enough for the difference he’s made to local families. We know his Dad would be so proud of him.”