A TORFAEN woman who was once too ill to climb the stairs due to a life-long battle with anorexia has successful scaled South Wales’ highest peak.

Claire Greaves, 22, of New Inn, climbed 886 metres up Pen y Fan covering four miles with friend Julie Jeffrey to raise money for Beat - a UK charity for people with eating disorders.

It is something that she never thought possible after battling anorexia since the age of five, which saw her hospitalised in August last year after her weight fell dangerously low.

Miss Greaves described the climb as “amazing”, completing both the ascent and descent in three hours. The pair raised £1,233.71 for the charity.

“The weather was clear and the view was spectacular at the top," she said. "We had to walk over snowy and icy bits and scrambled over rocks to get there and the wind was very strong and cold.

“My face was so numb but we had a laugh. Nothing in the world feels better than standing on top of a mountain with your best friend and to think only six months ago Julie was visiting me in hospital.”

It was Miss Greaves' idea to complete the climb to represent her own personal journey. She described it as "the biggest of treks”.

Completing the task was no mean feat for the young woman who described how at times her muscles were so weak with malnutrition that doctors would advise her not to walk or go out of the hospital ward.

“Even if I had been allowed I'm not sure my body would've handled it,” she said.

Miss Greaves wants to raise awareness of eating disorders, describing it as 'a living nightmare'. She hopes others who suffer with the condition will find hope in her story.

She said: “Anorexia is painful, there were times I would cry at the aches and cramps in my leg muscles, and the cold is unbearable with your bones feeling like ice packs.”

She also struggled with binge eating after throwing herself head first into recovery and “extreme hunger” would kick in.

She said: “It is a severe psychiatric illnesses, it is not a choice. When I was at my worse, I didn't care about fashion because I was too cold and weak, I wrapped up in whatever layers I could find.

“Nails, hair, skin- it all ends up damaged and disgusting because your body can't keep them healthy, it can barely keep your heart healthy. My condition led me to total despair and there were times when I felt the only way out was to die.”

She explained how her two months in hospital made her reflect on her behaviour with her deciding that there was “more to life than worrying about food” and she is now maintaining a healthy weight.

“Recovery feels like climbing a mountain; you can't always see the peak, but it's there, and the climb is difficult and you may have to pause and take breaks on the way up, but it is possible,” she said.

To sponsor Miss Greaves visit www.justgiving.com/climbED/