A chiropodist who spent more than a year planning a Nepal trek was left appalled after her luggage disappeared en route.

Sue Summers was one of 38 intrepid adventurers raising money for the British Heart Foundation by climbing to base camp, Mount Everest.

But the unlucky traveller, who waited and waited by the baggage carousel in Kathmandu hoping to see her backpack appear, was left climbing the world's highest mountain minus all her trekking equipment.

She told the Gazette: "I had to trek for 12 days in the Himalayas with only the clothes I travelled in.

"Some of the people I was with donated socks and some T-shirts to me, while someone else managed to dig out an old dusty sleeping bag, which I used.

"Other than that, I had to beg, borrow and steal!"

Her digital camera also stopped functioning on the climb and, as all the recommended pills were packed inside her luggage, she had to survive minus the medication.

However, despite all her bad luck, Mrs Summers, 48, who was able to pass on helpful tips to blister-stricken trekkers, fared better than many of her fellow travellers, who had to turn back or be airlifted from base camp suffering from altitude sickness and heart problems.

Mrs Summers, of Ipswich Road, Colchester, raised £3,000 for charity.