A MUM who has lost sight in both her eyes rose to the challenge of climbing a 550-year-old Inca citadel.

Bethan Phillips, from Frinton, was born with a condition which meant she had no sight in her left eye.

Earlier this year the sight in her right eye also started to deteriorate.

On turning 40, the mother-of-three wanted to take on a challenge to prove her condition could not limit her.

She has just returned from a ten-day trek to Machu Picchu in Peru, an Incan citadel set high in the Andes Mountains.

She said: “I was always told I would lose my sight eventually, so I wanted to challenge myself.

“A few months after I registered for Machu Picchu I started losing sight in my other eye.

“It’s difficult, as much as I have always known it will happen, there was never a timescale put on it.

“I have three children as well so it’s a bit of a blow, as you have to live life in a completely different way.”

Still, keen to make the most of the adventure Bethan said it only made her more determined.

She took a bunch of friends on a training exercise across London, and went on constant walks from Frinton to Clacton.

She said: “Nothing can prepare you for the altitude there, on the second day we had our first altitude hike just to get ourselves used to the climate.

“Then we spent three days going up and down mountains. It was gruelling, particularly due to the altitude, not just the terrain.

“You can’t be afraid of heights.”

In total she has raised more than £4,300 for the Royal National Institute of Blind People.