A BOLD High Wycombe man braved a notoriously dangerous mountaineering spot in Wales to raise almost £1,000 for charity.

Mark Smith, 39, embarked on his daring solo walk up the 3,559ft Crib Goch rock face to the Snowdon Base Camp in Wales on March 26 to raise money for Cancer Research UK.

It took the High Wycombe letting agent about six-and-a-half hours to complete the tricky trek around the deadly knife-edged ridge back to Pen-y-Pass.

But despite admitting his adventure was “extremely tough and very lonely”, Mr Smith said the knowledge of raising money for a worthy cause kept him going.

He said: “I was going to do it back in November but I kept putting it back to raise a bit more money.

"I did a bit of research into Crib Goch and obviously knew it was dangerous but I still wanted to do it because, like most people, I know people who have cancer.

“But it was completely off the cuff. I drove across to Wales, stayed overnight, got up in the morning, put my boots on, grabbed my rucksack and started walking.

“It was tough and quite lonely, despite talking to other walkers and climbers. There were a few times when I though 'what the hell am I doing here' but I kept going and completed it – but I'm not sure I'd do that alone again.”

Mr Smith has raised around £900 so far for Cancer Research UK and donations are still being accepted. Email emailmarksmith@yahoo.co.uk to sponsor him.