Allen, 92, climbs peak for 5th time

He's just eight years off his century – and Allen Birch was today celebrating after conquering Snowdon for the fifth time, raising more than £3,000 for the Midlands Air Ambulance in the process.

The 92-year-old great-grandfather shows no signs of slowing down. He only started his annual climb of the 3,560ft Welsh mountain at the age of 86 and now trains for his fundraising efforts by embarking on a 14-mile walk in the West Midlands every Saturday.

Mr Birch, a former soldier in the Royal Engineers, has now collected more than £20,000 for charity with his walks.

Last year he raised £3,320 for the Help for Heroes charity.

Mr Birch, who was a building manager at Brintons Carpets in Kidderminster before his retirement at 67, today spoke of his delight at his latest successful mountain climb. He arrived at the base of Snowdon at 8.30am and had reached the top by 1pm.

The trip was postponed by a day due to heavy rain but the sun shone when he made the summit.

Fellow walkers even stopped to congratulate him on his efforts. And Mr Birch, of Bewdley, continued his tradition of cutting a specially-made cake he had taken along.

Mr Birch, who served during the Second World War in Hamburg and Egypt, is already planning next year's Snowdon trip.

He said: "When I got to the top everyone saw me and they realised I was getting on a bit so they started cheering an clapping.

"I went to the restaurant there and cut the cake. It was a really nice day.

"I am getting older and slower, but I definitely plan to keep going to keep fit."