A Shropshire soldier who was the first British casualty of the Afghanistan conflict has been overwhelmed by public support for his bid to climb Africa’s highest mountain, he said today.

Stuart Trow, a former SAS and Parachute Regiment member from north Shropshire, will climb Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania later this year for Help for Heroes, a charity which supports wounded British soldiers. 

• For more on Stuart’s recovery click here

The 32-year-old, who also served in Kosovo, Bosnia and Northern Ireland, lost part of his leg after being shot three times in battle. Now he says offers of support have flooded in since news of his plan to tackle the 5,891 metre peak wearing a prosthetic limb was featured in the Shropshire Star.

“The reaction has been fantastic and people really want to come forward and do things for me and help in any way they can,” he said.

“The general public have been supportive and businesses too. Shrewsbury Town has donated some VIP match tickets which I plan to raffle off and a businessman says I can raffle off a two-week stay at his holiday home in Florida.”

To prepare for the gruelling climb in October Mr Trow said he plans to practice with ascents of Snowdon and Ben Nevis. But the biggest challenge facing the married father-of-two will be the pain barrier.

Because of the amputation he expects to suffer with blisters and he also has limited movement in his knee. To sponsor him, visit www.justgiving.com/heroclimb or see his charity page here.