Teen climbs Lake District peak in memory of dad

Andy Greenwood lost his battle against bowel cancer at the age of 49 and his 19-year-old son Rob took friends and family to the top of Great Gable to raise cash for the charity which supported him.

The climb raised £1,355 for the charity Bowel and Cancer Research and Rob explains that he chose the peak after his dad and step mum Tracey were unable to complete the climb due to bad conditions.

“They had to turn back because of fading light, and it always frustrated dad they never got there,” said Rob, who lives with Tracey at Wolseley Road, Preston.

“Tracey wanted to raise £100, but she wasn’t very good at social media so I got on Facebook and within a few days there were 15 of us.

“We were lucky with the weather and did it in about five hours just missing the thunderstorms.

“We toasted dad with a few beers at the top. And Tracey left a special slate on the cairn saying ‘We made it to the top, didn’t we’. It was a bit emotional.”

The walkers were also honouring Max Neill from Broadgate, Preston, who died of bowel cancer in February this year, aged 48. Max was the dad of Rob’s friend Jake Neill, 19, who also joined the Great Gable team.

Andy Greenwood, who worked at BAE Systems at Warton and Samlesbury for 30 years, was diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2010. After two operations and several bouts of chemotherapy, he died in February 2015.

“We got on really well. We’d go to watch Preston play football and went go-karting a lot. Dad could be a really quality person and he would appreciate what we’ve done,” said Rob who works at the Arnold Clark car dealership in Leyland.

To support the Great Gable team go to https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Rob-Greenwood2