A 12-YEAR-OLD boy with a spinal cord injury will attempt to reach the summit of Mount Snowdon tomorrow for charity.

Samuel Appleton is taking part in the Snowdon Push, where a team pushes, pulls, carries and wheels a team member in a wheelchair up and down the highest mountain in England and Wales.

The event is the brainchild of Back Up, a charity aiming to transform the lives of people with spinal cord injuries.

It covers eight miles of difficult terrain and could last up to seven hours, but Samuel, from Stonesfield near Witney, is determined to reach the peak.

He said: “ I’m really looking forward to the Snowdon Push, but feel nervous at the same time.

“This event is so important to me as it’s one of Back Up’s biggest fundraisers and I want to raise as much money as we can.

“Back Up have really helped me and I’d like to help them help others like me.”

Samuel sustained a spinal cord infraction while playing rugby in 2015 and has used a wheelchair ever since.

Back Up supported the Appleton family and Samuel started volunteering as a youth advisor with the charity, where he helps others adjust to life with spinal cord injury.

Last November he featured in a short film for Back Up that was aired during BBC Children in Need’s Friday night fundraising show and also attended the charity’s annual ball.

This has helped raise awareness for the organisation and his mother, Ali Appleton, maintains this is the most important result.

She said: “When he did his Children in Need film he had a great response.

“One family said their child had a spinal injury but they had never heard of Back Up – that makes it all worthwhile.”

Samuel’s team for the Snowdon Push, Appleton and Friends, have already raised more than £3,000, far surpassing the £2,000 needed to enter.

The 12-strong group includes his father Paul and sisters Katie and Rachel, 16 and 14 respectively, who will help Samuel up the mountain in his specially-modified ‘magic chair’.

The family are keen to give something back to the charity and Mrs Appleton believes completing the challenge would provide a real boost to her son.

She said: “He really enjoys being with Back Up and always comes out with his shoulders a bit broader and with a bit more confidence.”

Go to mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/aliaappleton1