A local optometrist has climbed this week’s Charity Champion leaderboard after conquering the Three Peaks Challenge and raising £5,000 for Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity. 

Jay Lad, who lives in Sutton Coldfield with his wife and two children, took on the challenge with his friends and family for his 50^th birthday celebrations. 

The group of 22 aged between 21 and 59, completed the Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon Challenge in just three days to raise the incredible £5,000. 

He said: “I live and work in Birmingham and have always been grateful to have such a world-class hospital on the doorstep. As an optometrist, I have referred many of my patients to the specialists at the hospital and now wanted to help them continue their work.    

“To mark my 50^th birthday, I decided it was the right time to take on a charity challenge. After convincing my friends and family to join me, we chose the Three Peaks as we all enjoy walking and we thought this would be a great way to see different parts of the country.   

“The conditions on the mountains were particularly tough, especially due to the recent heatwave - we hit highs of 30 degrees which made it even more difficult. However, when times got tough, we all thought about the sick kids we were helping and focused on the sense of achievement we would feel at the end.

“When we reached a final peak at the top of Ben Nevis, it was such an emotional time for us all – everyone was hugging and crying. It was a very special moment.”

Serena Daw, Public Fundraising Manager at Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity, added: “It’s so inspirational to hear how our hospital’s reputation has inspired Jay and his group of fundraising friends to take on this challenge for us.

“The money the group has raised will make a huge difference to the lives of our 90,000 brave patients who we support each year – thank you so much.”