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Boy to finish Three Peaks to help military children

FAMILY Alex standing in front of Ben Nevis. He had red hair and is wearing a blue T-shirt while giving a thumbs up to the camera. Behind him on the mountain, a stream runs along a valley down the grassy side of the mountainFAMILY
Alex is raising money for Little Troopers, a charity that supports military children like him

A 10-year-old boy from Shropshire will aim to finish the Three Peaks Challenge this weekend to raise money for a charity and mark Armed Forces Day.

Alex, from Wem, will climb Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa) with his father, Chris, who serves in the Royal Air Force (RAF), in aid of Little Troopers, a charity that supports children with one or both parents serving in the armed forces.

The pair hiked up Scafell Pike and Ben Nevis over the past two weekends

The charity is a cause close to home for Alex who said he spent many birthdays and Christmases separated from his dad due to his deployments in the RAF.

"I love my dad a lot. When he goes away it's just so hard, I hate not seeing him and not spending time with him," he said.

FAMILY Alex and his Dad Chris at the top of Ben Nevis. Both are smiling at the camera and his dad, Chris, is pointing upwards while wearing a blue jacket with the red armband of a rucksack visible. Alex wears a grey woolly hat and a blue and black coatFAMILY
Alex completed the first two hikes of the Three Peaks Challenge with his dad, Chris, who is in the RAF

"I wanted to make it hard, but still possible for me," Alex told BBC Radio Shropshire.

"I feel like I can do it. I've done the other two and my dad is saying Snowdon's the easiest of the three."

Alex has raised £400 of his £450 target for the charity and said he hoped it would help them help children going through some of the same things he had experienced.

'An amazing military child'

"When you donate to them, they can spend money making sure people are okay, and get them stuff like toys," he said.

His father joined the RAF in 2005 and soon afterwards was sent to Afghanistan and was away from his family for up to five months each year.

"It's the family you worry about back at home who are going through their daily life but you're not there, I find that really tough," said Chris.

"When we heard about Alex's challenge, we just couldn't wait to shout from the rooftops about what an amazing military child he is, and what a humongous challenge this is in aid of our charity," said Louise Fetigan, founder of the charity.

"It concludes on Armed Forces Day which is just so special."

Armed Forces Day, on 29 June, celebrates the work of the United Kingdom's military community, veterans and their families.

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