A City worker and mountaineer has currently raised more than £18,950 after climbing the height of Mount Everest in aid of the NSPCC.
David Tait, from Esher, spent 12 hours climbing up and down Box Hill in Surrey 40 times, the equivalent of climbing to the top of Mount Everest.
David began the challenge at midnight on Saturday as part of the NSPCC’s first ‘Big Climb’, a new national mass-participation event.
Hundreds of other people across the country took part in the challenge coming up with their own inventive way of scaling their stairs.
Saturday’s event at Box Hill is just the latest chapter in a remarkable story of extraordinary challenges undertaken by David to generate awareness and money for the NSPCC.
Earlier this year David’s incredible life and his enduring relationship with the NSPCC was turned into a film called Sulphur and White which was screened nationwide in cinemas.
The brutally honest, gritty but inspiring picture, which tells the story of child sexual abuse and the impact it had on David’s life, won national and international acclaim.
This also is not the first time David has taken on an epic climbing challenge in aid of the children’s charity.
He has personally raised £1.5 million for the NSPCC by climbing Mount Everest five times and was the first person to complete the North-South traverse.
Speaking after the challenge David said:
“I didn’t expect to find this challenge as hard as climbing Everest but, when I reflected back on it afterwards I realised that when I climbed Everest I did around 700m a day.
“With this challenge, I did the whole thing in one go and I hadn’t really given that a lot of thought until after I had completed it.
“My legs and feet aren’t in a good way but it was definitely worth it.”
A small group of David’s family and Alistair Petrie who starred in Sulphur and White attended the challenge to cheer him on.
David added:
“It was so nice to have a small group of people cheering me on and it was great to have Alistair there too as he is a very funny man.
“I’d love for this challenge to be bigger and better next year.
“It would be amazing if we could get a group of people to climb the height of Everest in one place.”
David was also awarded an MBE in 2010 by The Queen for his services to children and continues to be a significant figure at the NSPCC, speaking personally about his experiences to raise awareness and champion the work of the charity at events across the UK.
Peter Wanless, CEO at the NSPCC, added:
“I’d like to congratulate David for taking on this incredible challenge to raise money for the NSPCC. It is difficult to put into words how grateful we are for his ongoing support and remarkable commitment to the charity and all the children who need our help.”
To donate please visit David’s JustGiving page here.
