EVEREST base camp awaits for a Bradford on Avon dad who is determined to raise £10,000 for the hospital that saved his son's life.

Mark Skimming, of Poulton Road, will trek the 6,000m ascent in aid of the Bristol Children’s Hospital charity, The Grand Appeal, as a thank you to the doctors and nurses that cared for his son Albert, who has chronic lung disease.

The 36-year-old, who works at Bath University as swimming teacher and has coached a number of Olympic and Paralympic swimmers over the years, has already raised £6,000 and hopes to raise the amount before he flies out to Nepal on September 22.

“Albert is doing really well at the moment and he has not had a hospital stay since February," he said.

"My wife Joy and I are so proud of how much progress he has made in the last two years and I wanted to do something to go some small way towards repaying the amazing staff who have cared for him at Bristol Children’s Hospital.

“I have coached a number of Olympic and Paralympic swimmers as well as pentathletes but preparing myself for such a big challenge has been a very different experience.

"Luckily Albert is all the motivation I need, and he has enjoyed keeping me company on some of my training walks, riding on my shoulders.

“We estimate Albert’s care to date to have cost around £300,000 and his condition means he is likely to need further treatment in the future, but it is not just the monetary value. The support and dedication of all the staff who have helped Albert get to where he is now, and no doubt the ones that will help in the future, is just priceless. Without them we would not have our amazing little boy.”

The now three-year-old Albert, who spent five weeks in the hospital over Christmas and New Year nearly over 18 months ago, was born 13 weeks early in April 2013 and still suffers from shortness of breath – one of the reasons why Mr Skimming chose the Himalayan challenge, due to its high altitudes.

Mr Skimming, who is undergoing sessions in the university's altitude chamber so he can acclimatise, will fly to Katmandu in two months time, before heading to a small Himalayan village where he will then begin his 18-day adventure, trekking eight hours a day.

To donate visit www.justgiving.com/Mark-Skimming/