BEN Nevis is going to seem like a walk in the park for Salisbury police officer Simon Stone, who has set himself the challenge of climbing a mountain four times higher than Britain’s highest peak.

Sgt Stone will be raising money in aid of a charity close to his heart after son Ethan spent a week in the neonatal intensive care unit at Salisbury District Hospital in 2008 after being born by emergency caesarean.

He will be setting off in October and completing a 13-day trek to the mountain’s base camp in the Khumba region before embarking on the 21,246ft climb to the top alongside seven others.

All the funds he raises will go to the hospital’s Stars Appeal.

He said: “This is going to be a strenuous and physically demanding project to complete, taking me to areas I have never been before but I am really excited and can’t wait to get going.

“This is my way of giving something back for the wonderful care and treatment my son received in the NICU – the staff were very helpful and made every effort to ensure that we were kept well informed at what was a difficult time.”

Simon has taken part in similar events in the past such as climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, the Inca Trail and most recently the Three Peaks Challenge, which he completed with colleagues from Salisbury Police Station as part of his training for Mera Peak.

To donate visit www.justgiving.com/Stoney-climb-mera.