Snowdon MND fundraiser inspired by father's photo

Laura Rollason said it was as if her father had been by her side on the climb

The daughter of a police sergeant who died with Motor Neurone Disease said carrying a photo of him to the top of Snowdon made her feel like he was by her side.

Laura Rollason, 33, took on the challenge to raise funds for the Motor Neurone Disease Association (MNDA).

She said her father John Rollason had climbed the mountain himself shortly before his diagnosis.

He died in 2021 at the age of 60, after 30 years with West Midlands Police.

The police federation said he had joined the force at the age of 19 and was known to many as "the Sheriff of Bartley Green".

"It was as if he was taking on the challenge by our sides," Ms Rollason said.

"That photo kept us going and helped us get through the more difficult parts."

Ann-Marie Fox also joined her sister to climb Snowdon in their father's memory

Laura Rollason and her friends raised more than £2,000 for the Motor Neurone Disease Association

Ms Rollason walked up the 1,085m-high (3,560ft) mountain on 8 October, the weekend that would have been her father's 62nd birthday.

She was joined by her sister Ann-Marie, and her police officer husband Dan Fox, along with five other West Midlands Police officers.

The group raised more than £2,000 for the MNDA.

"We got the photo out once we reached the top, I know he would have been very honoured that we had completed the climb in his memory," Ms Rollason said.

Ms Rollason said the group aimed to raise awareness of the condition, as well as much needed funds.

With no cure, she said it was a "very frustrating disease to understand, even for the professionals".