Preston man climbs national three peaks for cancer charities – with a broken leg

Dipesh Patel at the Ben Nevis peak — Dipesh at the Ben Nevis peak

A Preston man who climbed the National Three Peaks for charity did so without realising he had a broken bone in his leg.

Dipesh Patel raised £2,572 by climbing the country’s three highest mountains within a 24-hour period.

It wasn’t until a week after he had completed the challenge that Dipesh had an X-ray at Chorley and South Ribble Hospital, which confirmed a fracture to his fibula – an injury he had picked up more than a month earlier walking the Guild Wheel as part of his training for summiting Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon.

Dipesh said: “In the immediate run up to the challenge, I was forced to rest because of my injury. A physiotherapist suggested that I might have a stress fracture but I hadn’t dared go for an X-ray because I had so much money for charity riding on me completing the climb, which had been on my bucket list for a long time.

“I didn’t want to let anyone down. I thought of all those who were really suffering from cancer and what I was feeling wasn’t comparable. I 100 per cent believe a higher force helped me complete the challenge.”

Now on the mend, Dipesh, who completed the peaks in 23 hours 50 minutes, is splitting the funds he raised through sponsorship between Rosemere Cancer Foundation, Derian House Children’s Hospice, St Catherine’s Hospice and the Teenage Cancer Trust.

Dipesh was supported by many friends and family, his employer Avove, which donated £100, his fellow worshippers at Preston’s Gujarat Hindu Society Temple, and members of the Penwortham Panthers Running Club.