An Army veteran has become the first double above the knee amputee to summit the Matterhorn.

Neil Heritage, 39, from Dorset, reached the 4,478m (14,692ft) peak on Friday 7 August, on his third attempt to conquer one of the deadliest mountains in the world.

His previous attempts in 2016 and 2018 were stopped by bad weather, and in 2017, Neil had to abandon their attempt before climbing even started as weather and two metres of snow thwarted any possibility of a safe climb.

“It was pretty amazing reaching the summit. Obviously, I have had a couple of goes at this now, so finally getting up there was an incredible experience. The whole expedition went really well,” said the former corporal, who was injured by a suicide bomber in Iraq in 2004.

To undertake the challenge Neil had the backing of Blesma, who helped towards funding this year’s expedition as well as previous attempts.

Blesma Member Les Binns was also part of Neil’s 15 strong climbing team, which included six wounded, injured or sick veterans’ part of Climb2Recovery, five experience mountain guides and four sponsors.

The Matterhorn expedition has raised for more £8,000 for Climb2Recovery, which was founded by Neil in 2016. 

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Find out more at: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/climb-2-recovery