Double amputee conquers Mount Snowdon crawling on hands and knees

Paul Ellis says it was a ‘good day’ and has raised thousands for charity

(Paul Ellis)

A double amputee has climbed to the summit of Snowdon, the highest mountain in Wales.

Paul Ellis, 56, from Widnes, Cheshire, completed the nine-mile trek on Friday.

He crawled on his hands and knees for 13 hours to reach the top, raising thousands of pounds for charity.

Mr Ellis had both of his legs amputated in 2008 after suffering a spinal injury in 1992.

He said he chose to have his legs removed below the knee to gain more mobility.

He has given more than £3,000 to send amputee children on holiday.

The married father-of-two said he did the first three miles in around three hours.

But the last two miles "took me more or less nine hours” as the climb got tougher.

He said passersby helped spur him on during the more challenging moments.

"I've got a few blisters on my stumps, blisters on my hands... you're putting your wrist down all the time so my wrists got quite sore," he said.

"But with all the support of the people on the mountain saying 'come on you can do it', that spurs you on.”

Mr Ellis added: "People are so generous, I ran out of water twice and people gave me water and food as well...I enjoyed it actually, it was a good day."

He spent the night at the top of Snowdown after completing the climb.

Earlier this year the 56-year-old reached the summit of Ben Nevis with a group of 10 other amputees.