AN ALLOA woman has climbed the tallest mountain in Britain in a bid to raise money for a hospital in Glasgow.

Melanie Milligan scaled Ben Nevis on Saturday, June 15, as she raised funds for the Golden Jubilee Hospital in Glasgow – where both her young girls were delivered.

The Wee County woman suffers from a heart condition and underwent an aortic valve replacement at just 14-years-old.

Throughout her pregnancy with her oldest daughter, Arianna, Melanie was on medication and treatment to ensure no harm was caused to the baby who was delivered safely at 37 weeks three years ago.

However, it was her pregnancy with her second child which proved difficult after Melanie developed a blood clot.

Little Millie was then delivered by Caesarean Section at just 28 weeks and weighed an incredible two pounds and five ounces.

Melanie had to undergo surgery and was in hospital for seven weeks while baby Millie was in for around nine weeks before being released on 24-hour oxygen.

Thankfully, however, Millie is recovering and now only requires the oxygen at night and now weighs more than 13 pounds.

The whole terrifying experience showed Melanie and her fiancé Graeme just how good a job the hospital do and set about finding a way to repay that hard work.

That's when the mum-of-two decided to climb Britain's highest peak with her sister and friends – and successfully achieved that goal on Saturday.

She told the Advertiser: "I was just looking for a physical challenge and I enjoy walking so we thought we'd do that.

"I originally wanted to raise around £500, but have managed to actually get over £1,200.

"The response has been phenomenal; I have been so surprised by people's generosity.

"It is such a mix of people donating too but it is all for amazing team at the hospital."

Although slightly nervous on the day, Melanie said she was surprised at how well she coped with the six-hour round trip.

She said: "I do enjoy walking, but have never done a Munro or anything.

"I actually found it [Ben Nevis] all right; I thought it was going to be harder.

"I do think the amount of money people have donated spurred me on, and the adrenaline got me through the rest."

The 29-year-old wished to pay a huge thank you to everyone who donated to her fantastic cause, and to her sister and friends for taking part in the challenge with her.

Anyone wishing to contribute to the cause can do so by visiting tinyurl.com/y24v7a9a