A little piece of South Shields on top of Mount Kilimanjaro

A South Tyneside action man's mountain mission is finally complete - after showing off his roots from on top of the world.

Steve Berry last month became one of just a few hundred people to have climbed the highest peaks on each of the world’s seven continents.

However, when he embarked on his final trek - climbing Antarctica’s Mount Vinson - he forgot to take his South Shields flag.

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The banner had been created by the Kodokwai Judo Club, based in Commercial Road, South Shields, where Steve, 61, is a black belt.

He finally got the chance to fly the flag - on top of Mount Kilimanjaro - Africa’s highest mountain at 5.895 metres above sea level and is the world’s highest ‘free standing’ mountain.

It’s not the first time Steve has scaled the mountain - this was his tenth time on the summit - after he had been commissioned as a guide by a group of walkers.

Steve, from Central Avenue, South Shields, said: “I was supposed to take the banner to Antarctica but I ended up forgetting to pack it.

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“So I decided to take it with me on my tenth trip to Kilimanjaro and wave it once I reached the top.

“I know the club will be delighted it’s finally ended up on the top of a mountain at long last. Better late than never.”

Steve will be in Uganda until the end of the month.

He’s currently looking at a water bore hole drilling project in Moyo Refugee Camp in Northern Uganda.

When he finally gets back home, he will be returning to his judo classes aims to write his first book - ‘Adventure before Dementia: A Life with Altitude’

It will be based on his ‘Seven Summit Odyssey’.

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The project saw him conquer Mount Everest, in the Himalayas; Mount Kosciuszko, in Australia; Argentina’s Aconcagua; Mount Denali, in Alaska in Tanzania, Mount Elbrus, in Russia, and of course Mount Kilimanjaro and Mount Vinson.