Eight-year-old boy with prosthetic legs climbs Lakeland fell after raising £19,000 for charity
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An eight-year-old boy with prosthetic legs has climbed to the top of a Lake District fell to raise money for charity.
Tony Hudgell, from Kings Hill in Kent, had both legs amputated after he was abused as a baby by his birth parents.
His parents were sentenced to 10 years in jail in 2018.
When he was five years old, he walked 10km on his prosthetic legs and raised almost £2 million for the Evelina London Children's Hospital.
After he received Pride of Britain and Points of Light awards for the endeavour, he set his sights on his next challenge.
"After my climb at lockdown, I was like I want to do a mountain," Tony told ITV News.
His family met with Cumbrian guide Steve Watts who made his dream a reality.
"Talk about endeavour, willpower. For an eight-year-old? Follow that," Watt told the BBC.
"How many more is he going to inspire?"
He continued: "It's not just about the money, it's the legacy."
Tony's climb up to the top of Orrest Head this week has raised £19,000 for the Tony Hudgell Foundation, Crohn's & Colitis UK, the Bendrigg Trust and The Lake District Foundation.
His initial target was £500, so he has absolutely smashed it out of the park for this fundraising effort.
His next target is England's highest peak, Scafell Pike.
"Apparently it is the highest mountain in England, so we will do it," he told ITV.
Eventually, he hopes to take on Mount Everest.
"Definitely, even though I will need a lot of oxygen. We will do it," he said of climbing the world's highest mountain.
Tony's adoptive mother, Paula Hudgell, told the BBC seeing him reach the summit was so 'incredible'.
"Anybody who knows Tony knows that he is a complete whirlwind," she told the publication.
"He's a force to be reckoned with."
She continued: "I reckon we could have climbed probably the highest mountain now. I think it might have started something."
