• Matt Edwards, a crutch-wielding amputee, reached the summit of Mount Snowdon’s top.
• To raise money for Sands.
• He later founded the nonprofit organisation Boxing for the Brain.

A crutch-wielding amputee has spoken of the “wonderful experience” of reaching Mount Snowdon’s top.

When Matt Edwards, 24, of Portsmouth, fell off his motorcycle in 2018, he lost part of his left leg below the knee.

On Saturday, he reached the summit of Wales’ tallest mountain, raising money for the charity for stillbirth and neonatal deaths (Sands).

The hike, according to Mr. Edwards, required a “mental push.”

I was on the verge of giving up, but something in my head kept telling me that it was for a good cause, so I couldn’t quit now.

In five hours and forty-five minutes, he, his friend Jack Sharpe, and Mr. Sharpe’s 13-year-old nephew finished the challenge.

Due to an abscess, Mr. Edwards, a boxing coach, is unable to use his prosthetic limb and must instead rely on crutches.

“When we were hiking the mountain, there [were] actually people that had two limbs and they looked fit and they were coming down. They’d turned back saying they couldn’t do it – it was knackering, too icy, too dangerous.

“That gave me the little push further to say, ‘oh, if they can’t do it, I’m going to make sure I can’.

“When we reached the summit, it’s just an amazing feeling,” he added.

Mr. Edwards recalled how he found it “physically and mentally hard” to process losing his limb, and turned to drugs and alcohol before discovering boxing could be an “instant stress reliever”.

In order to assist those with poor self-esteem, he later founded the nonprofit organisation Boxing for the Brain.

The group has already raised more than £1,200 for Sands after one of the family members lost their daughter.

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