TEN-year-old Finley Harrison has achieved an amazing hat-trick of ascents of Pen y Fan – in just one day.

The youngster reached the peak of the highest mountain in southern Britain three times in under eight hours.

Finley, who lives in Brecon and is a pupil at Llanfaes Primary School, came up with the idea after his school created a £5 challenge fundraising scheme to replace outdated IT equipment.

He invested in a T-Shirt emblazoned with ‘Pen Y Fan, 3 climbs – 1 day’ and a collection bucket and set about raising funds for his epic triple ascent of the 886 metre mountain.

Finley was accompanied for his first climb, at 8am on Saturday, September 16, by his grandmother Jannette Shepherd, who also lives in Brecon, and reached the top at 9.26am when the sun broke out. After a short break and refreshments, Finley returned to his starting position to begin his second attempt at 10.45am and without “Nanny holding him up” reached the summit at 12.05pm.

His final attempt began at 2pm and tiredness was beginning to kick in but his determination, family support and the many people walking on the mountain helped spur him on.

Donations were coming in thick and fast throughout the third climb as people on the mountain watched the determined 10-year-old.

Reaching the top of Pen y Fan for the third time in one day was finally achieved around 3.30pm and prompted a round of applause from everyone at top of the mountain as Finley made his final steps onto the stone that marks the top of Pen y Fan.

When he reached the bottom for the final time his mobile phone showed he had walked a grand total of 22km. Finley’s fundraising is likely to surpass £1,150, which he will present to the school once all sponsorship has been collected