An avid fell runner who has raised £3million for charity over the past 30 years received an award from the Prime Minister on the summit of a Lake District fell
The accolade comes just months after Steve Watts, 70, a former Grenadier Guard, received an MBE.
He moved to Grasmere just before the pandemic in 2020.
After completing his first running fundraiser in 1985, he has scaled Kilimanjaro and ran a marathon on Everest after being diagnosed with a heart condition in his late 50s. He also released a book in 2021, A Year Like No Other, after 551 consecutive days of posting Lake District lockdown photos for his followers.
Most recently, Steve organised the Summits Up for Tony challenge to help an eight-year-old boy achieve his dream of conquering a famous Lake District fell. Tony Hudgell, lost both legs due to injuries inflicted on him by his birth parents who were jailed in 2018.
The climb up Orrest Head in August also saw two very inspirational figures join in. They were 89-year-old veteran British mountaineer Sir Chris Bonington and former Gurkha Hari Budha Magar, who was the first double above-knee amputee to summit Everest just eight weeks before.
The challenge has raised almost £50,000 so far for the Tony Hudgell Foundation which helps children affected by physical, emotional or psychological abuse.
The Points of Light Award was presented on behalf of the Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on the summit of Orrest Head to Steve. The emotional moment was shortly after Tony and Hari crossed the line at the summit together.
Steve said: "It couldn't have been a more overwhelming moment. It's normally presented at Downing Street but fellow recipient Sally Orange MBE had been to number 10 earlier in the week and mentioned she was supporting Summits Up For Tony Challenge.
"She thought what a good idea it would be to make the presentation on the Prime Minister’s behalf at the summit - it was also Sally who made the nomination.
Steve, originally from Oldham, was awarded an MBE for his services to charitable fundraising with his first one raising more than £3,000 for a ventilator for the then 11-year-old Gary Hughes.
Not long after, Steve was asked by a consultant neurologist who had cared for Gary at Booth Hall Children’s Hospital to help raise £1 million to provide the first CT scanner dedicated to children in the North West.
He added: "To receive the MBE in the New Years Honours List of His Majesty King Charles was a most memorable occasion for all the family and friends. Without their help and support over the years, the award wouldn't have been possible.
"To now receive the Points of Light Award in the same year is very, very special - again this would not have been possible without all the support.
"Hari, Tony and mountaineering legend sir Chris are such inspirational people.
"Tony is an amazing, determined boy, who now wants to climb Scafell Pike, and Hari has overcome such mental and physical battles after losing both legs in Afghanistan.
"I would like to dedicate this to them and to all those who have played a part, right from the start, when we raised that first million to buy the North West’s First C T Scanner for Children at Booth Hall Children’s Hospital."
To donate to the Tony Hudgell foundation, please visit the Go Fund Me page.
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