Duncan Hassall from Yarm, Cleveland, had planned to climb the mountains in Scotland, the Lake District and Wales, with Andy Stinson from Merseyside.

The pair, who study civil engineering at Newcastle University, had been in training for weeks.

But gale-force winds and heavy rain forced the pair to abandon their plans.

They started their challenge on 20 June with the aim of climbing more than five mountains each day - a feat which they believe has never been attempted before.

Second attempt

They had just the peaks in Wales left to conquer when the bad weather caught up with them.

Mr Hassall said on Friday: "We gave up on Carnedd Llewelyn, the fourth peak in Wales.

"We were sat in a shelter 1,000m up, the wind was about 90mph and there was driving rain, and we pondered what to do.

"If we went on, we had 10km ahead of us, to turn back was a 6km walk, but we couldn't justify the risk of continuing."

The pair managed to climb 17 of the planned 28 mountains, and said they are confident they will be able to complete all 28 at a second attempt next year.

They were raising money for a number of charities, including the Newcastle-based Mad Foundation.