Inspirational paraplegic man from Cosham who scaled Snowdon for charity thanks his supporters

Humble Royal Navy veteran Paul Smith, 63, scaled Mount Snowdon in September, raising an impressive £10,000 in aid of Brain Tumour Research.

Aided by a team of four people, they made it up and down the peak in an impressive seven and a half hours – despite bad weather conditions.

Now, after being listed as part of the News Years Honours, he said: ‘I didn’t do this on my own, I had the fantastic support of my team. Without their patience, determination and belief in me I wouldn’t have been able to complete it.

‘They are amazing and I want to thank each and every one of them, as well as every one who has donated now and hopefully in the future.’

Since the epic climb Paul also took on further activities to generate funds for charity including putting up a Christmas display in his window and selling his own calendars featuring pictures of swans. So far the total for Brain Tumour Research stands at £10,740.

‘Originally I wanted to raise money for them because my friend’s sister died of a brain tumour,’ he said.

‘But after signing up for the Snowdon challenge I learnt my grandmother had died of one too so it became more personal.’

To donate visit justgiving.com/fundraising/paulchallengesnowdon.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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