Allen, 88, off to climb peak

Former scout leader Allen Birch, of Bewdley, is planning to set off on another mountain adventure to climb Snowdon, the 3,560ft high mountain in North Wales later this month.

It will be the second time the pensioner has climbed the peak to raise money for charity. Two years ago, he took six hours to reach the summit with his friend Damien Chance, from West Bromwich, before returning to their base at Llanberis.

This month he plans to do it again, also accompanied by Mr Chance, aged 40, and three of his former scouts, David Thomas, Peter Johnson and Andy Franklin, all now in their 60s.

Mr Birch, of Wribbenhall, said: "I wanted to go up Ben Nevis this time but they told me it was too long a journey to get up and down in a day."

Mr Birch regularly walks up to 14 miles on Saturdays to keep fit and one local builder has promised him £100 in sponsorship cash if he makes it to the top.

He hopes to raise money for Bewdley scouts and towards renovation work at Callow Hill Methodist Church, where he helps run a lunch club for the elderly.

When he was younger as a scout leader in the Wribbenhall troop, Mr Birch led expeditions up Ben Nevis, to the Cairngorms and to the Swiss Alps.

Now the widower and great-grandfather, who was formerly building manager at Brintons Carpets in Kidderminster, is hoping to beat the £1,561 sponsorship raised from his last Snowdon climb.

To prepare for his challenge, he has been out hiking during recent storms to test new wet-weather gear he plans to take up Snowdon.

Mr Thomas, 62, of Worcester, said: "Allen doesn't have any doubts about reaching the summit, but has asked for a few breaks on the way up to admire the view and catch his breath. We don't need any persuading.

"When we were in the scouts, Allen would get us up in the early hours to march up a mountain and watch the sunrise. The remarkable energy he displayed all those years ago seems to have stayed with him."