Unusual ways to raise money for charity
Anger over ironing board abandoned on Ben Nevis
An ironing board abandoned at the top of Ben Nevis has angered hillwalkers in the Scottish Highlands.
It was photographed last week resting against the ruined walls of the 19th century Ben Nevis observatory.
It is not uncommon for household items to be carried to the top of the UK's highest mountain as part of fundraising efforts for charities.
But the John Muir Trust, which shares responsibility for its management, said the rule is "leave nothing behind".
In April, a former soldier made it to the top of the 1,345m (4,413 ft) peak with a fridge on his back.
And in June, a mountain rescuer carried a 100kg (220lb) barbell to raise money for motor neurone disease research.
Other strange items reportedly left on Ben Nevis include a church organ, a toilet seat and a 3ft garden gnome.
The photograph of the ironing board angered hillwalkers when it was posted on a Highlands Facebook page.
It is believed those responsible may have been doing "extreme ironing" for charity - a craze where people take ironing boards to remote locations.
The John Muir Trust, which runs volunteer litter picks on Ben Nevis, said the summit "would start to look like a Home Bargains store" if all charity walkers left their items behind.
A spokesperson added: "A lot of people raise money for great causes on Ben Nevis, and we don't want to discourage that.
"Those unfamiliar with outdoors culture don't always understand the first unwritten rule of the hills, which is leave nothing behind but your boot prints."
Stafford man completes three-peaks challenge carrying fridge
A former soldier has completed the three-peaks challenge while carrying a fridge on his back.
Michael Copeland, from Stafford, scaled the three highest mountains in England, Scotland and Wales in just under 24 hours to raise money for charity.
"The biggest challenge was the timings between the mountains," he said, adding that he had to run for the last hour.
The fridge aims to illustrate the burden of carrying mental health issues around, Mr Copeland said.
He has raised thousands for mental health charity Mind.
"It was a bit of a struggle," he said. "We had heavy rain, 30-40mph winds as we're going up so it almost felt like a grown adult was trying to push me over."
He also overcame snow as he climbed Ben Nevis in Scotland, but said racing between the other peaks, Scafell Pike in the Lake District and Snowdon in Gwynedd, caused the biggest problems.
"We got to the top [of Snowdon] and we realised we had an hour and a half to get back down," Mr Copeland said.
"It was very dramatic, we had to run for the last hour to make it on time."
"I was running with the fridge on my back, it was banging against my back and it was very uncomfortable, but I couldn't not finish it," he added.
Mr Copeland has previously carried the fridge up Snowdon and he trains with the appliance on Cannock Chase.
"It's not about a fridge, it's about what it represents," he said.
"So obviously, climbing the mountain is almost like life and the fridge is mental health."
Mr Copeland has raised more than £7,000.
Royal Marine breaks marathon record with fridge on back
A Royal Marine who ran the London Marathon carrying a fridge has set a world record, the Royal Navy says.
Cpl Sam Hammond, 30, completed the 26.2-mile route with the appliance, dubbed "Fridget Jones", on his back on Sunday in four hours and 52 minutes.
The Royal Navy said he beat the previous world record by 57 minutes. The record attempt will now be verified by Guinness World Records.
The Cornwall-based marine was raising money for armed forces charity SSAFA.
Cpl Hammond, based at RNAS Culdrose, Helston, had only scooped his first Guinness World Record for running a half-marathon with his fridge, weighing in at 57.9lb (26.3kg), in Brighton in February.
The record comes under the category of "marathon carrying a household appliance (white goods)".
He said he "started off really well" on the London run, although he ended up "accidentally running too fast for the first 15 miles" and "cramp became my enemy" in the 21st mile.
He said: "The battle got tough ... a mixture of walking and running saw me struggle to the finish."
He had been unable to train with weight at that distance and so had never actually run the full 26 miles before he started the marathon.
He said: "It was discipline rather than motivation that got me through... At no point did I think about ditching the fridge.
"I am elated to have done it."
The 30-year-old weapons instructor, who was back at work the following day, has raised more than £4,700 for SSAFA.
Comments
Abandoning items on Ben Nevis, the highest peak of England, it´s crazy. The Scots do it, in my opinion, to stand out and in this way can raise money for charity. Wouldn´t it be better that they sold house hold items like fridge, barbell, church organ, toilet seat or gnome at the auction and, after, they might give this money to charity? As Mr Trust said Ben Nevis is going to look like Home Bargains store.
Mr Copeland carried a fridge on his back around three peaks in England, Scotland and Wales for mental health issues. I recognize that this man deserves that everyone from UK applaud him, but this is no the way, first, because he can damage himself and, in the second place, he could be an example for the rest. Do you imagine that had a row going up to Ben Nevis with a fridge on his back?
Running a race with 26.3kg on his back to get the world record is not easy to understand for me. I suppose than “Fridget Jones” wanted to raise money for SSAFA, but it seems that the principal aim was to beat the previous world record. He felt elated. Congratulations!
See you.
Raising money for charity is a huge business in the UK. People have to come up with outlandish ideas in order to get attention. It doesn't surprise me in the least that people leave litter at the top of Ben Nevis (the highest mountain in Scotland and the UK - it's not in England). The problem of littering seems to be getting worse and worse - humans are by far the messiest animal on the planet.
Carrying items up Ben Nevis, the highest peak in the UK, is crazy. The Scots do it, in my opinion, to stand out and this way can raise money for charity. Wouldn´t it be better to sell household items like the fridge, barbell, church organ, toilet seat or gnome at an auction and, after, they might give this money to charity? As Mr Trust, said Ben Nevis is going to end up looking like a Home Bargains store.
Mr Copeland carried a fridge on his back around three peaks in England, Scotland and Wales for mental health issues. I recognize that this man deserves to be applauded by everyone in the UK, but this is not the way, first, because he can hurt himself and second, he could be an example for the rest. Can you imagine if he'd had a row going up to Ben Nevis with a fridge on his back?