A DUNFERMLINE secretary will leave for a trip of a lifetime next week to take on the highest mountain in Africa.

Julia Foster, 47, will be raising vital funds for Strathcarron Hospice as she treks 4,900 metres up Kilimanjaro.

She is being supported by her work, law firm Stevenson and Marshall, who have paid for her flights and expenses.

Work colleagues have also been backing her through fundraising, including cashier Sean Webster who was in the Press recently after braving a leg wax to push up her total to £4,252.

Julia said: "I've had a year to prepare but it is still not long enough!

"But it is an opportunity I can't turn down. Work offered a place for someone to go with a team of 20 who are fundraising for Strathcarron Hospice, so people put their names down and my name was pulled out.

"I thought it would be a great opportunity but I probably I hadn't thought it through!"

Julia has been training hard at the gym three to four times a week to prepare for the challenge but it's altitude sickness she's most afraid of.

She added: "No, I've not done any Munros for a very long time! I've done a couple of walks but it's mostly been training in the gym and walking everywhere instead of getting the bus.

"We'll be there for 10 days and hopefully I will be back by the end of September.

"This is a huge challenge for me. A couple of years ago, I was diagnosed with a condition, not a life-threatening one but nevertheless, having been healthy up to that point it knocked me for six. I gave up my running and started gaining weight rapidly. All this led to low self-esteem, lack of motivation and a lot of self-doubts.

"It's a scary thought going on that way and trekking up Kilimanjaro.

"I won't lie, I'm terrified, but I'm also very excited.

"I'm raising funds for a worthwhile cause and I'm doing something to better myself.

"I know it won't be easy but I'm determined that I will be standing on top of that mountain, looking out at the world and saying to myself, 'I did it', and for those who believe in me I will prove it!"

Julia says it will be her late mum, who died in June, that will be motivating her to the top.

"I will walk up there for my mum," she said. "She was quite jealous that I was going up there.

"So I'm going to have a necklace of hers to take her up there with me.

"I never thought I would be doing something like this, it wasn't on my bucket list but I do like an adventure! It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

To donate, visit www.strathcarronhospice.net/fundraisers/jools-kilimanjaro-adventure