A CONNAH'S Quay man put himself to the test in memory of his father and friend.

Shaun Kinnair, 51, took part in a three day climb up Mont Blanc in France and raised over £1,000 for the Hospice of the Good Shepherd.

He also matched the funds raised to donate to the Cancer Research group based in Deeside, bringing the total up to £2,210.

He said: "It was a great experience, difficult but great and I'm very pleased with how much I raised."

Shaun said he wanted to do something in memory of his father and school friend who both died of cancer and set himself the challenge of climbing the mountain.

He added: "It was a bit of a nightmare to be honest because the route I was meant to take was closed off, so the mountain guide I was with said I would have to do it from the Italian side.

"I thought it would be the same but it was a lot worse. It was quite scary and a difficult experience but I did it.

"I've climbed mountains in the past but I've not faced something this hard or done it for charity so I decided to put the two together."