Wigan dad takes on subsea to summit challenge at Snowdon in 80kg vintage diving suit

Nigel Brookwell is known for taking on wacky tasks to support good causes, including raising more than £6,000 last month by crawling on his hands and knees from Wigan town centre to Standish.

He has only just recovered from the pub crawl, but at the weekend he took part in a relay at Snowdon in an 80kg vintage diving suit.

It started with a dive in Llyn Padarn, at the foot of Snowdon, and over the next two days the team climbed to the summit of the mountain.

The challenge – named Subsea to Summit – had been postponed from 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic and fell on one of the hottest weekends of the year.

Nigel took on the relay as part of a team raising money for three-year-old Cadi Evans, from Llanberis, who was born deaf and needs a specialist device so teachers can communicate with her once she starts school.

Nigel, who lives in Swinley, said: “We reached the summit of Snowdon on Sunday afternoon. Most importantly, I know we have also reached our fund-raising target for young Cadi Evans, of Llanberis. Once the money is counted and transferred, there is now more than enough to purchase and install the specialist equipment that will enable her to hear the teacher when she starts primary school in September.”

It is not the first time Nigel has completed a challenge in the heavy diving suit – he did another subsea to summit at Ben Nevis in 2018 and wore the suit at the Wigan 10k in 2017.

He also pushed a hospital bed for 10 miles at Run Wigan Festival in 2019.

Nigel has raised thousands of pounds for good causes over recent years, including for FORME, after his son Harry was diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome, also known as ME, in 2016.

His most recent effort – the eight-and-a-half-hour pub crawl – saw him collect donations worth £6,600 for Wigan-based Empathy Northwest CIC, after he learned about the need for mental health care and the support offered by the organisation.

To donate to the appeal for Cadi, go to www.gofundme.com/f/snowdon-diver-2022