Doncaster grandad and friends raise more than £1,000 for Sheffield Children's Hospital

A big-hearted grandad hit the dizzy heights of the UK's foremost peak when he raised more than £1,000 for Sheffield Children's Hospital.
Mitch Anderson (third from left) with fellow fundraisersMitch Anderson (third from left) with fellow fundraisers
Mitch Anderson (third from left) with fellow fundraisers

Mitch Anderson from Kirk Sandall, Doncaster, scaled 1,345-metre Ben Nevis, and raised £1,251 for the hospital which saved the lives of two of his three grandchildren.

The 46-year-old telecommunications engineer got the top with five of his friends, all supporters of The Children’s Hospital Charity.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Mitch said: “Both of my grandchildren had life-saving operations at Sheffield Children’s Hospital. My first granddaughter, Chloe Anderson, was born without any complications, but my second, Olivia, who’s seven now, was born at 25 weeks and then had to have follow- ups at the hospital for years.

“My third, Harrison, is three now, but he was born at 28 weeks and had to stay on the ward for four months. He’s had problems with his bowels since then.

“My daughter, Emma Anderson, built up a really good rapport with the staff on the Neonatal Surgical Unit. They always took the time to ask us how we were and if there was anything they could do to help us.

“They didn’t need to do that but they always had time for us.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“It was a really harrowing time for us all and for the staff at Sheffield Children’s Hospital to have saved the life of not one but two of my grandchildren – they’re just brilliant.”

The whole of Mitch’s team, made up of Neil Harrington, John Hull, John Sutherland, Mark Brooks and Sean Whitnall, managed to reach the Ben Nevis summit within 10 hours.

“Some people on Ben Nevis had been training for six months, but us lot from Doncaster hadn’t trained at all!

“We probably could have done with a bit more preparation to be honest, but we all managed to make it to the summit. Ben Nevis is a really difficult climb – I’m not sure I could have done it without my grandchildren for inspiration.”