A RETAINED firefighter from Cirencester has spoken of his relief of raising £3,000 to fund a charity climb up the world’s tallest mountain.

Father-of-three Des Moore will take on the epic challenge that is climbing Mount Everest in just over two months time to raise money for The Firefighters Charity.

Speaking to the Standard just hours after reaching his target, he said: “It’s such a relief to have finally reached £3,000. When I first started fundraising I thought ‘how am I going to raise that sort of money?’ But I’ve had a lot of support from the fire service and everyone in Cirencester.”

Des has been staging fundraising events, including a charity car wash and a big prize raffle, around Cirencester for the last 18 months.

He has even had a helping hand from some of Cirencester’s most well-known businesses, wealth management company St James’ Place donated a cheque of £500 towards Des’ target.

Following a break over Christmas, Des is ploughing on with his rigorous training regime that will see him swimming and running nearly every day of the week to ensure he is as fit as he can be for the 17,000ft trek to Everest’s Base Camp in March.

He said: “I’m really excited by the thought of going now. I’m just looking forward to the whole experience of getting out there.”

The Firefighters Charity, for which is Des is raising money, provides life-enhancing services to those firefighters, both active and retired, who are in need.

For more information, visit www.firefighterscharity.org.uk.