Wiltshire soldier attempts charity mountain climb record

Royal Fusilier Jonathan Roberson said he was diagnosed with PTSD after suffering with years of illness due to a hole in his heart

A soldier is climbing one of Wales' tallest peaks with a rowing machine strapped to his back.

Royal Fusilier Jonathan Roberson, based in Pewsey in Wiltshire, is climbing Pen y Fan, as many times as he can in 24 hours.

The 28-year-old is taking on the challenge after struggling with illness due to a hole in his heart that had an impact on his mental heath.

Any funds raised will be given to the charity Combat Stress which helped him.

Along with the 26kg rowing machine, he will also be carrying a 3kg medicine ball, and each time he reaches the summit he plans to row the height of the mountain before heading back down again.

He could achieve two Guinness World Records for his efforts: most repetitions of Pen y Fan in a full day and most hikes completed carrying a rowing machine.

He said: "The minimum I have to do is six repetitions. So that's up the mountain carrying the rowing machine, rowing the height of the mountain, and back down again. That's one repetition. But I plan to do 10.

"When it's done, I will have scaled over the height of Everest and rowed the height of Everest at the same time," he added.

Originally from Newcastle, he joined the Army in 2013.

In 2017, due to a hole in his heart, he suffered a stroke during a strongman event and spent 13 days in hospital learning how to walk and talk again.

In 2020, he had heart surgery to close the hole in his heart.

Mr Roberson said he was eventually also diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.

He said: "I wouldn't eat, couldn't sleep. I reached out to the Combat Stress helpline.

"It has helped me massively which is why I wanted to raise money for them."