Keith Matthews made the promise as his granddaughter Tanya lay in hospital with the killer strain of the disease in 2008.

He now plans to scale the Mourne Mountains in Northern Ireland after she survived meningitis twice.

"I said to Him that if she pulled through I would do everything I could to help support anyone who has experienced meningitis," he said.

"That's why I chose the Meningitis Trust, as it provides a lifeline to people whose lives have been turned upside down by the disease. People just like me and my family."

His granddaughter, now 20, survived but was left deaf in one ear. She recently contracted the less-serious viral strain of meningitis and has made a good recovery for a second time.

Mr Matthews, from Workington, Cumbria, has been in a wheelchair since 1982 after a car crash but it has not stopped him from conquering some of the highest peaks including Ben Nevis, Snowdon and Helvellyn.

His latest exploit will see him set sail to Northern Ireland from Stranraer to start climbing on August 9 with a team of 20 locals.

As many as 500,000 people living in the UK today have had either viral or bacterial meningitis and up to 10 million adults in the UK - one adult in every four - knows of someone who has had the disease.

Meningitis is life-threatening and affects the membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord. Meningitis and associated septicaemia (blood poisoning) can kill within hours and can affect anyone at any time. Those most at risk are children under the age of five, teenagers and young adults, and people over 55.