A former soldier who was blinded by a bomb in Afghanistan has finally summited Mount Everest on his third attempt - after he was forced to turn back to save struggling climbers the first two times.
Les Binns, 48, from Rotherham, South Yorkshire, was protecting fellow soldiers from IEDs when he was blasted in the face and left blind in his left eye in 2009.
After 13 years in the forces, he returned to civilian life but was plagued by PTSD and survivors guilt, having watched harrowing deaths of his brothers in arms during two tours in Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan.
The dad-of-one began running ultramarathons as a means of escape, but caught the climbing bug after seeing a callout on Twitter to join in some expeditions with fellow veterans.
In 2016, he made his first attempt to climb Everest, but at 8,400ft was forced to return to save another climber who had frostbite and cerebral and pulmonary oedema (brain swelling and fluid in the lungs).
Les told The Mirror : "When I saw Sunita she was in so much trouble, her hands were black from the frostbite and she was trying to rip her suit open saying she was too hot and couldn't breathe, which is one of the symptoms of pulmonary oedema.
"I could have walked past her and carried on but if I did that I couldn't have lived with myself, it would have played on my mind for the rest of my life.
"We managed to save her and her hands but after that I wasn't sure if I wanted to climb again."
"But the summit has been sat there in my mind and I knew I could do it."
The following year, Les returned to try again but could hear the screams of an American climber who was being battered by 80mph winds and sprung into action again.
He said: "The wind that hit us was unbelievable, it was ripping us to bits.
"I could hear screams and when I looked out there was a guy holding onto his equipment and the mountain for dear life.
"The wind was blowing up his tent poles against the mountain and he had become trapped trying to get them back up, and he was being strangled and choked."
After trying one more time to reach the summit, Les finally stood on top of Mount Everest earlier this month.
He said: "It's an amazing feeling looking out at the world, it doesn't seem real.
"People don't understand that when you get to the summit there's no jumping up and down or tears of joy because you're so exhausted.
"It wasn't until I got back down and I started getting all these messages from my friends and family that it hit me and I just broke down."
Les who is an ambassador for limbless veterans charity, Blesma, has been able to conquer Everest thanks to the organisations adventure fund, which provides financial support for former servicemen and women to achieve their dreams.
The former sergeant flew from the UK to Qatar and then onto Kathmandu in Nepal before getting a local flight to the mountain.
The trek to base camp takes another 8-9 days and then climbers must spend another 40-45 acclimatising in preparation for the feat ahead.
But adverse conditions are something Les is already all too familiar with, as he explains how he lost his vision in his left eye.
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"I was out on patrol and I was the point man, which means it was my job to use a metal detector to look out for IEDs.
"I was training the Afghan army on how to protect their men and avoid IEDs when I noticed three of their guys sat close together on watch.
"I went over to warn them, telling them to stand further apart because if one of them stood on an IED they would all die.
"As one of them stepped forward, he stepped on a pressure plate and detonated one - they were all killed and the blast hit me in the face.
"I spent a year having treatment and left the forces in 2010 but that's when the PTSD and survivors guilt hit me.
"I was having nightmares, fits of rage, I would be watching TV and burst into tears for no reason, I thought I was going mad.
"When I got into running and climbing, everything got better, it was an escape and a distraction."
Now Les, who works as a construction worker is training to become a mountaineer and rock climbing instructor so he can safely help others achieve their dreams too.
