AMPUTEE SCALES MATTERHORN

AN ex-soldier who lost his legs in war has become the first above-the-knee double amputee to scale the Matterhorn.

Neil Heritage from Dorset reached the top of the 4,478-metre mountain on the border of Switzerland and Italy on his third attempt. His two previous efforts were scuppered by bad weather.

Neil, a former corporal, had to have both his legs amputated after a bomb blast in Iraq in 2004. He scaled the Matterhorn with a friend, Mark Hooks, who said: “It was just so special”.

The achievement has raised more than £8,000 for Neil’s charity, Climb 2 Recovery.