A father and 12 of his friends have completed the Three Peaks Challenge in memory of his daughter who died of a rare genetic condition.

Matt Vince and friends climbed Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon, raising more than £35,000 for the Chailey Heritage Foundation.

He and his wife Sam lost three-year-old Luna-Rose in October 2022. The family were supported by the foundation, a centre for children and young people with complex neurodisabilities.

Sam, Matt and Luna-Rose, who died of a rare genetic condition (Image: Matt Vince)

Matt and his mates decided to climb the three highest peaks in the UK over four days and make it even harder by cycling over 450 miles to do so.

At the time, roads were flooded and they battled against strong winds and heavy rain for much of the four days.

'It was a very painful experience and the 13 of us are exhausted but we are all over the moon to have achieved this' (Image: Peter Lindsey)

Matt said: "The weather kept coming at us but we kept battling away, we had to.

"It was a very painful experience and the 13 of us are exhausted but we are all over the moon to have achieved this.

"Our plans were thrown out of the window as soon as we reached the Lake District and there was a yellow weather warning.

"But we are all so happy. Climbing the mountains was very tough indeed but we all did it. It was a massive team effort."

They climbed Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon in a bid to raise £35,000 for the Chailey Heritage Foundation (Image: Peter Lindsey)

Since his daughter’s death, Matt has been giving back to the charity that helped them so much.

Matt said: "Personally, I am over the moon and I want to thank my colleagues who took part. I want to thank my friends and families for all the time and effort that was put into this challenge.

"Chailey Heritage Foundation is the most amazing charity and it means so much to me and my family. The help they gave to me, my wife Sam and, most importantly, to Luna-Rose was incredible."

Last year, he completed the Brighton Marathon in memory of Luna-Rose and raised £25,000.

Will Folkes, director of specialist services and income at Chailey Heritage Foundation, said: “What can we say? We are so thankful to Matt and his friends.

“We were privileged to support Luna-Rose and her family through our Aquamovers service – a group providing expert therapy and socialising for children, aged one to five years old, with very complex health needs. 

“They were regular attendees and Sam told me how important it was to come and talk to other parents experiencing similar situations.

“We are truly grateful to Matt and his 12 friends for undertaking this very tough challenge. Please support them if you can.”