Oliver Gregory is undertaking the Apex Everest challenge in memory of his mum Emma and to raise funds for The Orange Foundation, which provides practical support for people living with cancer.

Oliver, who is a serving Royal Marine Commando, will be quite literally following in his Mum's footsteps as he aims to summit the Lake District's Helvellyn Mountain nine times.

During the challenge, he will complete a 12 km loop nine times in 48 hours, which means he will cover 108 km (67.5 miles) and an elevation of 8.8km (5.5 miles) - the same height as Everest.

His Mum Emma was a competitive fell runner and was no stranger to Helvellyn, as it was one of the peaks that she traversed when completing the Bob Graham Round in May 2010.

Oliver said: "I've been looking at numerous challenges that I think would pay tribute to my mum's endeavours, and this challenge connected with me as mum used to wax lyrical about Helvellyn and how it was a beautiful but could be dangerous if you didn't respect it. It was one of Mum's favourite Lake District Mountains.

"She was an incredible endurance athlete, completing numerous ultramarathons, fell races, including an Iron Man, but she used to say that the Bob Graham Round was her greatest sporting achievement.

"I think her positive mindset and resilience were part of the reason she outlived her original diagnosis of six months' life expectancy when she was told she had Stage 4 Bowel Cancer. One of her friends said that even when faced with the most demanding situations, she was a tornado of positivity.

"I'll be channelling my mum when taking part in the challenge."