Double amputee crawls to the summit of Ben Nevis – then pops legs on for descent
A man who lost both his legs has reached the peak of the UK’S highest mountain in a marathon charity fundraiser after ditching both of his prosthetic limbs.
Paul Ellis, 57, a father-of-two from Widnes in Cheshire, used knee pads for protection and set off on a 4,413ft crawl to the top of the mountain.
He completed the remarkable ascent in 12 hours on Easter Sunday, leaving behind his prosthetic legs behind to demonstrate how amputees can rise to almost any challenges they face.
Mr Ellis had climbed the mountain wearing prosthetics last year but, this time, wanted to take on an even greater challenge.
He admitted the effort left him "very very sore", but he was "made up" he managed to complete it and raise £5,000.
"It was a very hard challenge which left my knees and back very sore. But I made the decision to crawl because I wanted to get people's attention.
"It was gruelling and at times it was quite emotional, but I just kept going. I was made up when I completed the challenge and to help raise funds to give amputee children the holiday of a lifetime."
Mr Ellis suffered a fall in 1992 which left his legs paralysed and a further break in 2007 after which he opted for a double below-the-knee amputation in 2008.
Following the surgery, he used a wheelchair or walked on prosthetic legs.
Last year, Mr Ellis became friends with Ben Lovell, who is the founder of Amp Camp, a charity which provides holidays for amputees, and he scaled Ben Nevis and Snowdon in Wales. This year he opted for his greatest challenge yet – ditching the prosthetics and crawling to the summit of Ben Nevis on stumps.
He said: "I knew it would be very hard. I had walked it before so I made the choice to crawl. I wanted to make get people's attention and show what amputees can do."
He set up a Gofundme to support the challenge and people began donating in their hundreds.
On Saturday, as everyone sat back to enjoy the good weather over the Easter bank holiday, Paul began his mission with his 30-strong team.
It was a 12-hour crawl to the summit, which is 1,345 metres above sea level.
They camped at the top before Mr Ellis popped his prosthetics legs back on to walk back down. He said: "When I got to the top, I could have cried my eyes out. It was such an amazing feeling."
The descent, however, was "more painful" than the way up due, he said, to sore muscles from the day before.
But when he got back down to the bottom the following day, he said: "Seeing my family again was fantastic. There were lots of big hugs."
The adventurous amputee has no plans to stop his missions - because he "believes in" Ben's amazing charity, Amp Camp. He said: "When I went to Amp Camp it was out of this world. I had never even been in the sea before.
"I know it's an amazing charity because I know what they do. I have done it myself and I want to raise awareness."