Two kind-hearted siblings from Herefordshire climbed six peaks during their summer holidays in aid of the Wales Air Ambulance Charity and NHS.

The Weobley High School pupils Ashia, 13, and Charles Day, 11 were joined by family, friends, students and teachers from the school throughout their ‘six peaks in six weeks’ fundraiser.

During the challenge the youngsters raised £1,090 for the Wales Air Ambulance and £668 for the NHS after their father Craig had a catastrophic stroke at work last year.

Craig was taken by ambulance to Hereford A&E, from there he was transferred by an air ambulance to Birmingham Queen Elizabeth Hospital for a lifesaving operation to remove three blood clots from his brain.

The peaks that they climbed were Hay bluff, Snowdon, Plynlimon, Twmpa, Cader Idris and they finished off with Pen Y Fan.

The children climbed Cader Idris twice after they decided to do a ‘bonus climb’ on the last weekend of the holiday due to the fact it was foggy when they did it as part of the challenge.

Their proud mum, Rachel said: “We started off planning a three peaks challenge, but Ashia felt this wasn’t challenging enough so we went for six peaks in the six weeks of the summer.

“We actually climbed Cader Idris twice, so if you add in Corn Du which we went over on the way to Pen Y Fan we actually climbed eight peaks over the summer holiday.”

Charles is no stranger to fundraising for charity, last November during the English Lockdown he raised £1,420 for the Wales Air Ambulance and £1,000 for the NHS by completing a 5k lap of Presteigne every day.

Wales Air Ambulance offers advanced critical care and is often described as a ‘Flying ED’. The on-board consultants and critical care practitioners are highly skilled and carry some of the most pioneering medical equipment in the world. They can deliver blood transfusions, administer anaesthesia and undertake emergency operations at the scene of the incident, before flying the patient directly to specialist care. 

Rachel said: “We decided to raise money after Craig had a catastrophic stroke last year. The NHS and air ambulance were outstanding and their swift decisive action in getting Craig to Birmingham for an emergency operation to remove three clots from his brain saved his life.

“The speed and efficiency the air ambulance got him to Birmingham also preserved Craig’s personality and his memories, which is something we are eternally grateful for. We wanted to say thank you.”

Craig is still in hospital after a ‘rollercoaster of a year’, which included him catching Covid. He still has very limited mobility and has been left with a visual impairment.

Rachel added: “We are currently waiting for a care package so that he can come home, and we can be together as a family again.” 

Helen Pruett, Community Fundraiser, said: “Thank you so much to Ashia, Charles and Rachel for fundraising for two important causes. Despite an extremely difficult year for the family, they’ve gone out of their way to raise funds for the Wales Air Ambulance and NHS, which is inspirational. Thank you to everyone who has supported the Charity and donated to the fundraiser. We wish Craig well in his recovery.”

A group of teachers from Weobley High School, where both Craig and Rachel teach at, are hoping to do the three peaks challenge next summer to raise more funds for the Wales Air Ambulance.

Wales Air Ambulance has four aircraft based across Wales, in Dafen, Caernarfon, Welshpool and Cardiff. Now operational 24/7, the Charity needs to raise £8 million every year to keep the helicopters flying.  

There are several ways that the public can continue to support the Wales Air Ambulance. These include online donations, signing up to the Charity’s Lifesaving Lottery or by coming up with their own innovative ways to fundraise at home. Further information can be found via www.walesairambulance.com. 

Alternatively, a £5 text-message donation can be made by texting the word HELI to 70711.