Four men from Monmouthshire are training to complete the UK three peaks challenge in memory of 23-year-old Callum Arnold, who passed away on Boxing Day 2021 after contracting Sepsis.

Friends of Callum, Bill Davies, 24, Nathan Ford, 24, Lloyd Roberts, 25 and his dad, Dean Arnold, 54 will spend 24 hours over September 16 and 17 raising money for 2Wish, a charity that provide support for families who have suffered a sudden bereavement of a person under 25. 

Callum, from Abergavenny, had Lesch-Nyhan Syndrome, a genetic disorder often found in males which involves symptoms such as impaired kidney function, acute gouty arthritis and uncontrollable self-injury. 

He contracted Sepsis at the end of 2021 and passed away on Boxing Day. Bill says his passing “came as a shock to us all.”

He added: “It was such a surprise and so upsetting because he really was just an amazing lad.

“Dean and Jane devoted their lives to him and so the support they received from 2Wish when he passed was so beneficial and now as a group we want to give something back to them.”

The group have currently raised more than £1500 for the charity but are hoping to get in as many donations as they can before they set out on their trek in September.

Bill paid tribute to Callum, explaining how “he was the happiest person considering he didn’t have a lot going his way.”

He said: “He was always just so happy and cheeky. His parents have memories of when he had female nurses and he would always be flirting with them.

“They have other memories of when he learnt if he held his breath while hooked up to the monitors in hospital, that he could make everything start beeping and so he would just wind everyone up. 

“Us boys grew up with him and we obviously knew he had this condition but we all just knew him as Callum. We just thought the world of him. 

“Its a real testament to him that he was so limited but he really did touch the hearts of everyone he knew. Everyone we’ve spoken to about what we are doing wants to donate because they all just know what an amazing lad he was.”

The group have posted: "The Three Peaks challenge has a total elevation gain of 3,064m which is the equivalent of walking 8 Empire State Building’s stacked on top of each other!

"For the Abergavenny locals out there that’s the equivalent of the Sugarloaf stacked on top of itself 5 times! (Walked from the River Usk not the carpark !) If you want to help motivate us for the climb please donate on our JustGiving page."

Or you can show your support by joining their page on Facebook.