Climbers advised to take it easy after altitude sickness study

Thousands of climbers scaling Mount Kilimanjaro are taking unnecessary risks with their health, experts warned today.

Travel firms have seen an increase in bookings following the successful summit by nine celebrities, including singer and X Factor judge Cheryl Cole and TV presenter Fearne Cotton, for last year's Comic Relief campaign.

But researchers from Edinburgh University are warning many climbing Africa's tallest peak "know little or nothing" about high altitude, which can prove fatal.

Scientists tested the levels of altitude sickness among more than 200 people climbing Kilimanjaro.

They found that 47 per cent of the climbers suffered symptoms of altitude sickness before they had reached the summit and most were ascending too quickly.

Stewart Jackson, who conducted the study, published in the journal High Altitude Medicine and Biology, said: "An acclimatisation trek before attempting to summit Mount Kilimanjaro offers climbers the best chance of a safe, successful trip."