Sir Ranulph Fiennes becomes oldest Brit to scale Everest

It was a case of third time lucky this week for 65-year-old explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes as he reached the top of Everest on his third attempt, becoming the oldest Briton to do so.

The former British army officer, who is listed in the Guinness Book Of Records as the 'greatest living adventurer' arrived at the summit on Friday morning, saying he had fulfilled what had "long been a personal goal".

His first attempt ended a thousand feet from the top when he suffered a heart attack. And in 2008 exhaustion forced him to turn back. At the time he ruled out a third attempt as he thought it would be "bad luck", but later changed his mind.

Sir Ranulph, who made the climb for Marie Curie Cancer Care, holds several other endurance records. He was the first man to visit both the North and South poles by surface and the first man to traverse Antarctica on foot.

Photo: © Rex