A STUDENT from Sidmouth is embarking on a charity trip up Mount Everest next week.

Luke Osbond has nearly achieved his £3,000 charity target with more than a fortnight to go until he reaches base camp in the Himalayas.

His chosen charity is Childreach International, and he has focused his efforts on the My Voice, My School programme, which helps to improve education in a primary school in Nepal.

Childreach International has been running since 2004. The charity’s aim is to help hundreds of thousands of children in Nepal find food, shelter and education.

The 26-year-old ran 18 miles of the Oxford Ringroad on the summer solstice (Saturday, June 21) to add to his charity total.

He also shaved his head and, despite his best efforts and support from friends and family, he has had to put in much of the money himself.

Luke said: “The fundraising has been difficult since I started it in January. I’ve collected money from generous donations of friends and strangers alike and I’ve sold a lot of stuff.

“In the end, there wasn’t enough time juggling my full-time job and part-time MA to actually properly fundraise, so I put in a lot myself.”

He is currently the lead film supervisor at a film school in London and studies for a part-time master’s degree in his spare time.

Luke starts his journey on Monday, August 25, and will spend three days with the school before he begins his climb. He will return on September 15.

Training for the trip has been non-stop since June.

Luke said: “The training has been continuous. I trained for the Oxford run, knowing that the training would help with the climb.

“With less than two weeks to go, now I’m practising packing the backpack and walking long distances with it, unpacking and packing every few miles.

If you would like to help Luke his My Donate website runs until Tuesday, September 30, at: https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/lukeosbond1