A WELDER who had to give up work due to a back injury is fighting through his pain to raise funds for a charity close to his heart. 

Mathew Robinson, 36, of Bradford, is tackling the Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge once a month for a year to raise funds for The Stroke Association in memory of his grandfather, Graham Robinson, who died last year. 

One of the few exercises Mathew can manage is walking, after suffering an injury at work. A back operation in March to relieve nerve pressure has helped, but this is only temporary.   

Graham RobinsonGraham Robinson (Image: Submitted)

Mathew’s next date with the three peaks is October 7. He’s under no illusions about the problems he may face and will be well prepared - with jelly babies on his list of special equipment. 

In his first attempt a couple of weeks ago, Mathew conquered the 24.5 mile route in less than 12 hours.

“It felt brilliant,” he told the Telegraph and Argus.

“I did it last year and I did it in 11 hr 47 minutes, so I did it in about 11 hours 35 this time. 

“Ingleborough was really something – the last two miles, it’s very stony path. I need new boots because the boots didn’t give me much comfort. But it was a good walk, and I’ll be back again next month. 

“You have to actually walk it to find out how difficult that bit is. From Whernside up to Ingleborough, that’s not too bad, but coming down Whernside my knee hurt really bad so I put some heat relieving stuff on it.

“That helped a bit but not too much. I had two bags of jelly babies - they helped, and isotonic drinks.  

“There’s a scramble at the top of Ingleborough. That was seriously hard. My feet are killing me. But I enjoyed it and I will be back next month.” 

Mathew was inspired to continue after meeting a fellow walker, Dave Bailey, whom he credits for giving him the confidence to carry on when he ran out of energy.

Mathew with his friend DavidMathew with his friend David (Image: Mathew Robinson)

Since giving up work, Mathew has started crafting gifts from wood and metal, using his skills as a welder. 

He sells the items from his Beyond Bespoke stall in Settle Market every month, where he is also fundraising for the Stroke Association by donating 10 per cent of sales to the charity.

To contribute to Mathew's fundraising for the Stroke Association, click here or search for Beyond Bespoke on Facebook.

Mathew has a warning to anyone who wants to tackle the challenge, after helping a walker who was lost on the top of Whernside.

“Go prepared,” he said.

“You need a whistle, blanket, light, maps, compass, poles, boots, waterproofs.” 

“You shouldn’t need to be asking where to go. He was unprepared. You have to go very prepared. But you can still get lost. People underestimate it.”