AN eight-year-old boy who had ambitious plans to climb a mountain for charity has settled on the next best thing — climbing to the highest point on Dartmoor in aid of the Alzheimer’s Society.

‘I want to climb a mountain for charity this year!’ is what Robin Reed from Tavistock exclaimed to his parents out of the blue one evening.

However, with no mountains nearby, it was decided that he would climb High Willhays near Okehampton, the highest point on Dartmoor at 2,039ft, and would be undertaking the venture this weekend — weather permitting.

Robin, a pupil at St Peter’s Junior School, wanted to raise money for Alzheimers after his great grandfather was recently diagnosed with dementia.

No stranger to fundraising for good causes, last year Robin and his family organised a litter pick at Bovisand on Plymouth Sound to raise funds for the Motor Neurone Disease Association (MNDA) after losing a family friend to the disease.

The family have also been regular volunteers for Tidy Tavi — Tavistock’s volunteer litter picking group.

Robin’s mum Kate said: ‘Robin announced, one wet January evening, that he wanted to climb a mountain in aid of charity this year, so we’re going to climb Higher Willhayes on March 9, subject to the weather and the firing range not being used!

‘We’re extremely proud of Robin. Last year we did a beach clean in aid of Motor Neurone Disease and that was his motivation to ask to do something else for charity this year.

‘He’d been asked by his school to write a letter to the headteacher outlining what he wanted to achieve this year and he said he put in his letter that he wanted to learn his times tables and climb a mountain for charity. We’re working on the times tables and hope to be able to climb the mountain this weekend.

‘Me, with my dodgy hips, and his dad, with his stiff knees, will climb it with him. We’re going to Wales in May on holiday so if the weather lets us down and prevents us from climbing Higher Willhayes, we’ll don our walking boots to climb a mountain in Wales in May instead.’

A fundraising website has been set up for Robin’s climb and support has already been flooding in for the youngster. He had managed to raise nearly £150 as the Times went to press.