Four British military veterans, including Veterans Minister Al Carns, have reached the summit of Mount Everest a record-breaking five days after leaving London.
The Mission Everest team is aiming to get from London to the top of the world’s highest mountain and back in just seven days.
They now have 48 hours to make it back to Britain.
The quickest it’s ever been done to date is 21 days.
Before setting off Carns, MP for Birmingham Selly Oak, said anything under 21 days would count as a success, but if they didn’t make it back to the UK in seven days he’d re-attempt the mission at a later date.
The quartet is attempting the feat to raise £1m in funds for veterans’ charities.
The team waved a Union flag on the 8,849m peak which ex-Royal Marines officer Carns took on every operational tour while serving in the corps.
The Mission Everest team is: expedition leader Major Garth Miller, Carns, Anthony “Staz” Stazicker, of TV’s SAS: Who Dares Wins, and Kevin Godlington.
A spokeswoman for Carns said: “The team reached the summit of Everest at 7am local time on Wednesday, 2am London time.
“They are aiming to raise £1 million for veterans charities, including Scotty’s Little Soldiers which supports children of fallen soldiers.”
She added “Al waved a Union Jack at the summit, which he had carried on all of his military tours, including multiple combat trips to Afghanistan.
“He also waved the flag of Birmingham, featuring the city’s iconic bull.
“The team spent about half an hour on the summit, and are now on the descent of the mountain before starting the journey back to London, aiming to arrive on Friday, exactly seven days after they left.”
