A father-of-three has completed a remarkable charity trip up Everest, during which he found the body of a friend who died after reaching the summit.

Climbing-enthusiast Rodney Hogg, from Twickenham, fulfilled a lifetime ambition by scaling Mount Everest to raise awareness of Children in Need.

But the trip had a particular poignancy for Mr Hogg, who discovered the body of a close friend, who had died on his descent down the 8,848m-high mountain.

At the request of the friend’s parents he left a name tag on his friend’s body so others who saw the body could remember him.

Mr Hogg, of Wellington Road, said: “It was a brilliant trip. I knew it wasn’t going to be easy. I’m really pleased I came back safe.

“My first objective was to stay safe but getting to the summit was totally brilliant. The significance didn’t really hit me until afterwards.”

The experienced climber set off on the two-month challenge as part of a 10-man expedition in March.

It was the last in a series of gruelling mountain climbs Mr Hogg has faced in aid of charity, which included conquering Denali, North America’s highest mountain, which has the reputation for being the hardest and coldest of the seven highest mountains on the seven continents to climb.

However, Mr Hogg admitted that he found climbing Mount Everest exhausting and had brief moments of doubt as to whether he would reach the summit.

He added: “Two or three hours before I got to the summit I worried how much energy I had left.

“I went up a bit more and then I could see the summit and that was the point of no return.”

The 44-year-old also took the charity’s mascot Pudsey Bear with him to the top of the summit, to give the cause the highest priority.

Mr Hogg, who works for the BBC, spent about 15 minutes at the top of Mount Everest taking in his accomplishment before beginning the descent.

Despite only returning to England three weeks ago, Mr Hogg is already planning to take part in further challenges including a bike ride with colleagues from the BBC’s Television Centre in London to the new MediaCityUK in Salford Quays, Manchester.

He is also hoping to return again to Mount Everest and even tackle an expedition to the Arctic.

To make a donation to Mr Hogg visit justgiving.com/PudseyOnEverest2011.