Paralysed Ed Jackson to take on '12 peaks of Christmas'

A paralysed ex-rugby player is taking on 12 of the UK's highest peaks in time for Christmas.

Alongside climber Ross Stirling, Ed Jackson from Bath will climb the "12 peaks of Christmas" challenge while carrying a Christmas tree on his back.

After an accident in 2017 he was told he may never walk again.

The pair are raising money for War Child's Afghanistan emergency appeal and the Millimetres 2 Mountains Foundation.

If successful both Mr Jackson and Mr Stirling will have climbed 11,490 metres (37,696 ft).

Mr Jackson's 10-year-career as a professional rugby player was cut short after he dived into the shallow end of a swimming pool, fracturing multiple vertebrae in his spine.

The ex-Bath, Wasps and Dragons player was left paralysed from the neck down.

However, after flickers of movement in his toes and intense surgeries and rehabilitation, he defied their predictions by taking on multiple challenges, including reaching the summit of Snowdon a year on after his accident and climbing the equivalent of Mount Everest by going up and down his parents' staircase during the pandemic.

Using splints and sticks, his latest challenge started by climbing Càrn Mòr Dearg and Britain's highest mountain, Ben Nevis in Scotland on Sunday, followed by Skiddaw, Helvellyn, Scafell Pike and Great Gable.

They will be heading east to tackle the Yorkshire Three Peaks - Whernside, Ingleborough and Pen-y-Ghent.

The duo are hoping to conclude in Wales by climbing Tryfan, Glyder Fawr, before finally reaching the top of Snowdon on Christmas Eve.

Millimetres 2 Mountains Foundation, the charity set up by Mr Jackson and his wife Lois in 2019, looks to create positive change through outdoor adventure for people who have faced trauma, mental health issues and adversity.

Talking about the challenge, Mr Jackson said that attempting the 12 peaks of Christmas while carrying a Christmas tree was going to be "very hard work" but both him and Mr Stirling were "determined to make it to the summit of Snowdon" which is where his "post-accident journey in the outdoors really began".

"Christmas is a time for gratitude, cheer and hope, but for some it instead puts the spotlight on what was and could have been.

"Trauma, be it physical or psychological, can steal hope from anyone. We want to give that back by raising money."

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