Des Lally is celebrating completing his year long challenge to climb Pen y Fan 365 times. The mortgage broker from Brecon has raised over £50,000 for Help for Heroes and Cancer Research UK over the course of the year.

The challenge started on March 26 last year, and came to its end this Saturday, as Des climbed the peak for his final time of the challenge, accompanied by his Dad, aged 78, and over 100 supporters.

The challenge saw him walking "around 1,360 miles", and making the 2,907ft ascent through snowstorms, heatwaves, and Storm Callum, which "knocked me off my feet and saw me crawling on my hands and knees to the top."

Des says the motivation to complete this challenge were his parents, with both his Mum and his Dad having previously had three types of cancer between them, and his Dad being an ex-member of the Irish Guards for 26 years. Des reached the top to be welcomed by a group of supporters and a military band from the Guard of honour. Upon his arrival at the peak, he received a caricature of himself as a present from ex-Cardiff City footballer Gareth Davies, a friend of Des, who accompanied him on about 50 climbs.

He climbed the peak three times the day before, so that he would only have to climb one final time on the Saturday. Previously, Des had climbed Pen y Fan up to four times in a day, in order to allow for days off in rough weather or because of business commitments. After a tough summer climbing in record temperatures, he found himself behind his target, and needing to scale the peak extra times to make up for it.

Des claimed that he had a "tear in [his] eye", as he was greeted to the summit in what was an emotional final climb. His final climb follows several injuries, including injured ankles and twisted knees, alongside heat exhaustion. Talking to the Brecon & Radnor Express before the challenge, Des said that he had "probably gone through seven pairs of shoes".

Having completed the challenge, Lally said he felt humbled: "It’s been really humbling - not only the people who have donated, but the people who have liked and shared it.

“It’s been a massive journey and we’ve all been on it - it’s not just me."

He commented: "Today is the end of a long year.”