A 12-YEAR-OLD boy with a spinal cord injury overcame scorching temperatures to reach the top of Mount Snowdon and raise thousands of pounds for charity.

Samuel Appleton was pushed, pulled, carried and wheeled up the mountain by 12 people for the Snowdon Push on Saturday, an event organised by spinal cord injury charity Back Up.

The team took more than eight hours to complete the challenge in the 28C heat, but Samuel’s mum Ali Appleton said her son’s team never stopped believing.

She said: “This is their tenth year and the person in charge said it was the first time he’d felt nervous about them doing it.

“There were bits of it where he was frightened but when he overcame it he was really proud.

“They did it all with a smile on their faces.”

Samuel, from Stonesfield near Witney, sustained a spinal cord infraction while playing rugby in 2015 and has used a wheelchair ever since.

Back Up supported the Appleton family and Samuel started volunteering as a youth advisor with the charity, where he helps others adjust to life with spinal cord injury.

Last November he featured in a short film for Back Up that was aired during BBC Children in Need’s Friday night fundraising show and also attended the charity’s annual ball.

This has helped raise awareness for the organisation, which Mrs Appleton maintains is the most important result.

She said: “When he did his Children in Need film he had a great response.

“One family said their child had a spinal injury but they had never heard of Back Up – that makes it all worthwhile.

“He really enjoys being with Back Up and always comes out with his shoulders a bit broader and with a bit more confidence.”

Samuel’s team, Appleton and Friends, have raised £4,500, with donations still pouring in.

The 12-strong group included father Paul and sisters Katie and Rachel, 16 and 14 respectively, who helped Samuel up the mountain in his specially-modified ‘magic chair’.

They also teamed up with another family from Surrey, who have helped drive the total up by spreading the word.

Mrs Appleton revealed the team had aimed to finish in time to watch England’s World Cup quarter-final with Sweden.

But the heat slowed them down and they were forced to listen to the match on the radio.

They reached base camp at the final whistle, with tannoys blaring out football anthem ‘Three Lions’ to greet their arrival.

Go to mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/aliaappleton1