AN INTREPID Bewdley great-grandfather who raised nearly £30,000 for charity by climbing Wales’ highest peak six times has sadly passed away at the age of 96.

Daredevil pensioner Allen Birch scaled 3,500ft Mount Snowdon to help Kidderminster Hospital, local scouts and churches, Help for Heroes and the Midlands Air Ambulance.

He died on Sunday following a short illness and leaves a daughter Des, two grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

Mr Birch, of Spencer Avenue, Wribbenhall, climbed the peak in his eighties with friends, and even got to the summit aged 91.

He once recalled it wasn’t the climb that was difficult “but collecting the money afterwards took a very long time”.

He saw mountaineering “as a way of life” - sparked by his time in the scouts - but on a charity climb in 2011 torrential rain and 70mph winds blew him over some way from the top.

His friend David Thomas, formerly of Pleasant Harbour, Bewdley, said: “The rest of us landed on top of him, but despite minor injuries, he wanted to carry on. Eventually we persuaded him to abandon the attempt. A lot of people even donated more money after they heard about the epic.

“Allen was a wonderful man who liked to help others. He was strong, stoical, kind and adventurous and we will always miss him.”

Born in High Street, Bewdley, in 1919, Mr Birch’s father taught him to ride horses at the age of seven. He hoped to become a jockey but after growing too tall trained as a bricklayer, eventually becoming building manager at Brintons Carpets.

He built several homes in Spencer Avenue single-handedly, including his daughter’s bungalow at the age of 86. He also helped build the scout hut in Wribbenhall.

Mr Birch, whose wife Gladys died 14 years ago, was group scout leader at the 3rd Bewdley troop and took senior scouts on expeditions to Scotland, where they climbed Ben Nevis, and to Switzerland, where they scaled an Alpine peak and slept in a mountain hut.

His Snowdon exploits raised £6,000 for Kidderminster Hospital to buy a cooling cap to prevent hair loss during chemotherapy.

He also helped run a pensioners’ luncheon club and was a dab hand at making cakes.

During the war he served in the Royal Engineers clearing mines and building bridges in France, Germany, Belgium, Holland and Egypt.

Daughter Des said: “I always worried about him climbing Snowdon at his age, but I wouldn’t have wanted to stop him. He achieved so much in his long life and was always so full of energy. “

In 2012 Mr Birch published his autobiography “Bewdley Born and Bred”. It was a sell-out. Typically, he gave the proceeds to charity.