'Most broken' man completes Everest trek

A man once described by paramedics as the "most broken man" they had ever helped from a crash, has completed a trek to Everest base camp.

Simon Clark, 44, who lives near Cirencester, in Gloucestershire, was involved in a crash on the A429 in October 2019 that killed his partner and left him with catastrophic injuries.

He was temporarily paralysed, but has since recovered the ability to walk, completing the 40 mile (64km) hike to base camp, which is 5,430 metres above sea level.

"I want to try to prove to people... it's possible to overcome almost anything," Mr Clark said.

"I still can't quite believe it.

"It's absolutely amazing, it's a once in a lifetime thing to do anyway, but from where I started from it's astounding."

Mr Clark, and his partner, Lindy, were driving to a supermarket when they were involved in the head-on collision.

Paramedics who attended the scene said there were a "number of injuries he suffered that should have killed him there and then".

Two months later Mr Clark woke up to find he had been in a coma and had suffered extreme injuries, including extensive brain damage that risked him becoming severely disabled.

At that point he was completely paralysed, could not speak and had to blink to communicate.

But he said he was determined to walk again and soon set his sights on the Everest challenge to prove to himself and others that he could do it.

"When I was told I would never walk again, I made a promise to myself that I would walk out of hospital in six months, and I did it after five," he said.

"My secret goal was to walk to base camp within five years and I did that with a month to spare."

He said the challenge was also a way for him to thank the Great Western Air Ambulance for saving his life.

"[The trek] was horrifically challenging and painful," he said.

"I honestly didn't believe I was going to make it, it took everything I had and more to get there. But it's one of those things, I just had to keep going."

So far he has raised more than £1,500 but he said his "ultimate goal" was to raise £4.5m.

"This is the first of many challenges," he said.

"My next big challenge is to try and walk through the north pole."

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