JEWELLER'S wife Nicola Dudley from Marlborough has levelled with her husband David by sending him up Mount Everest in return for his nominating her for a hoops of fire stunt on TV.

However he says his three week charity trek to the Everest base camp at an altitude of 18,500 feet was far more arduous than his wife's appearance on Don't Try This At Home and he wants her to go on a two week cycle ride across Vietnam next year to make up for it.

Mrs Dudley, a voluntary worker with the Salisbury based children's charity Hope and Homes, gamely drove a car though blazing bales of straw for her TV stunt though presenter Davina McCall gave her the opportunity to pull out.

She had been nominated by her husband who owns a High Street jewellers in Marlborough and by way of penance she suggested he should go on the Everest trek in aid of Hope and Homes, the charity started by Col Mark Cook and his wife Caroline to alleviate the suffering of children in the world's worst trouble spots by providing them with homes.

It looks as if every foot climbed by Mr Dudley to the base camp at 18,500 ft will bring in one pound for Hope and Homes.

By the time he has finished collecting sponsorship, and with more than £5,700 raised at a rock concert starring The Sweet at Marlborough College on November 4, he hopes to be able to present Col Cook with a cheque for £18,500.

Mr Dudley's colleagues in the Marlborough Rotary Club helped organise the rock concert and have supported his Everest trek with sponsorship.

The money from Mr Dudley and the other 37 who took part in the trek which should result in a total of about £100,000 will be used to build small family type homes for orphans worldwide.

Mr Dudley knew how tough the trek would be because he had previously climbed to the 19,000 feet summit of Mount Kilimanjaro in 1992.

He flew to Katmandu where light aircraft ferried him and the other Hope and Home trekkers, including actor Clive Mantle, who lives in Box, to a small air strip cut into the Himalayas at Lukla.

Lukla stands at 9,000 ft above sea level three times the height of the UK's tallest mountain and Mr Dudley said the party immediately felt the effects of the altitude.

The party trekked for about six hours a day carrying their water supplies and extra clothing although the tents they slept in and food supplies were carried by the local sherpas. It was essential to carry warm clothing because although daytime temperatures topped 25 degrees, they fell to as low as minus 20 at night.

"The higher it got the colder it got,"said Mr Dudley who settled in Marlborough eight years ago. "It dropped to minus 20 at night although it was only minus eight inside the tents. "Even in our tents we wore three pairs of socks, gloves, balaclavas and long johns."

However, the discomfort of the cold was more than compensated for by the views as they climbed higher.

"So vast and so high beyond belief and so difficult to put into scale," he said.

On their way to the summit the group stopped off at several Buddhist monasteries including the second highest in the world at Tengboche which stands 12,664 ft above sea level.

The lama (priest) at the monastery blessed the scarves the Hope and Homes team were wearing to ensure a safe journey up the rest of the mountain.

They also visited the Hillary Hospital opened to commemorate the feat of New Zealand climber Sir Edmund Hillary who led the first team which conquered Everest in 1953 and which included the Marlborough College teacher, and later town historian, the late EGH "Gee" Kempson.

Mr Dudley whose training for the climb included sessions in the fitness suite at the Marlborough Leisure Centre said a number of the Hope and Home trekkers suffered from the effects of the climb.

"Quite a few of them went down with altitude sickness but I had no problems at all."

Throughout their climb the trekkers could see the summit of the world's tallest mountain with snow being blown off by the fierce winds. Although the early winter is an ideal time for trekking up the base camp, said Mr Dudley, the 125 mph winds on the summit precluded any attempts to go any higher.

He said the group's determination quickly did away with any flagging spirits as everyone taking part willed the others to carry on.

He said: "The whole secret was that we kept each other going because we all wanted to get their ourselves."

At 17,500 ft the group held a carol concert possibly setting world altitude record for carolling although said Mr Dudley: "We found the breathing difficult to hold the notes at this high altitude."

The trekkers were constantly reminded of the hazards of mountaineering and their journey took them past the graves of more than 200 climbers.

Mr Dudley said: "It made us realise what a formidable mountain Everest is to climb and how brave and strong those people are who reached the top. I met one sherpa who had reached the summit three times."

The descent was almost as difficult as the trek up the mountain said Mr Dudley who said the most welcome sight was the five star hotel which greeted them back in Katmandu. "We could not wait to sink into a wonderful hot bath."

The father of two has now heard of a two week charity ride across Vietnam next year but added: "Nicola can do that one."