A grandfather is to walk up Pen y Fan sixty times in 45 days to raise money for two different charities to mark his 60th birthday.

Gurkha veteran Mahadev Thapa is hoping to raise money for the Wales Air Ambulance Charity as well as for Sunrise Primary School in Yanchock - his hometown in Nepal.

As the Brecon and Radnor Express went to press Mahadev, of Brecon has already walked up the famous Brecon Beacons mountain 38 times in 30 days and he will finish the series of walks on they day of his birthday on Wednesday, September 22.

The grandfather-of-two said he had picked the Wales Air Ambulance Charity following an experience he had in 2012 where a woman broke her ankle on the Pen y Fan.

He said: “It was in 2012 and I was doing the WAAT4 Challenge. I was at a check point at the top of Pen y Fan and this lady went down and broke her ankle.

“The paramedic called an ambulance, it was only a small red air ambulance and it wasn’t able to land so it went back and they sent the big yellow air ambulance.

“It had to wait on the second peak for the wind to clear before it came to pick her up.

“I just want to raise enough money for the Wales Air Ambulance to save at least one person’s life. Not too much money but enough to save one life.”

Mahadev, more commonly known as Dibby, has lived in Brecon since 2007 with his family.

The father-of-two moved to Brecon after a 15 year career with the Brigade of Gurkhas, serving as a Queen’s Gurkha Royal Engineer and then in the Brunei Government’s Gurkha Reserve Unit - his family boasts four generations of Gurkhas including his son who is currently serving.

The Powys County Council highway and groundsman is based at Brecon cemetery - he said that he digs graves, cuts the grass and the trees, and generally helps to maintain the cemetery.

He has worked for Powys council since 2008 and has taken the lead in looking after the Brecon cemetery and its surrounding area.

He spent his own time to create flower beds around the chapel within the grounds and during the Covid-19 pandemic he maintained the Gurkha path along the river Usk making sure the overgrowth was cut back and the wooden bridge and step structures were repaired after flooding.

The community stalwart is also fundraising for Sunrise Primary School which was founded by his grandfather in 1955 after he left the Gurkha Army.

Mahadev and his family have been supporting the school ever since, however it is now in danger of being closed by authorities in Nepal which would mean that local schoolchildren would have to travel for miles by foot to receive their education.

Mahadev said: “The other one I’m fundraising for is the school. I’m just trying to make some fome funds for the school because the Government wants to close it down. Originally they stopped sending children there.

“Now we have children but not enough teachers - there is one nursery teacher and one junior teacher.”

Mahadev is looking to raise money to help gain and retain teachers and well as to purchase supplies for the school including IT equipment - he explained that any left over money raised on top of what he needs to raise will be used throughout the year for the school.

The groundsman hasn’t taken any time off work for his fundraising quest and he even sometimes walks up Pen y Fan at 5.20am before going to work and walking back up the mountain in the evening.

He explained that he likes to keep it as interesting as possible as he tries to pick a different route out of the four - Corn Du, Cwm Llwch, Pont ar Daf carpark and Storey Arms - to the summit every time.

When asked if he is ever achy at work following a morning walk, Mahadev said: “I’m alright - I don’t go fast so I’m jut walking it. I might run it on the last day but usually I’m just walking it.”

Mahadev has currently raised £355 via a Just Giving page which is still open for donations.

A bucket collection for both charities will take place in Brecon Town centre on Friday, September 10.

Mahadev is open to others joining him on his walks - so far he has been joined by councillors, police officers and other members of the community - and anybody wishing to accompany him can contact him via 07920 473772.

Brecon mayor, councillor John Powell said: “I have walked up Pen y Fan to support Mahadev with his challenge.

“He has done so much for our community here in Brecon, it is my pleasure to support him”.