A FAMILY has raised more than £4,000 for a national charity by climbing Snowdon.

The Thomas family from Chepstow braved the cold conditions on Saturday, November 16 - raising £4,272 for The Brain Tumour Charity.

Dad Luke Thomas said: “It was a hard trek up. We got to about two thirds of the way up and it was just snow – and it was knee deep in some places.

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South Wales Argus:

(L-R: Tyrone, Luke and Lucy Thomas on Snowdon)

“We started at about 7am and were back down by about 1.30pm. We took the Llanberis Path.

“I wouldn’t let anyone stop for long, if we stopped too much, we wouldn’t get going again.

“We were 100 per cent determined to do it so just got on with it.”

Mr Thomas was joined by his daughter Lucy, 20, and son Tyrone, 18 on the journey.

South Wales Argus:

(The view the Thomas family had at the start of their journey up Snowdon)

“When we got to the dial at the top, it was sheet ice. It was freezing at the top.”

The challenge came about after youngest daughter Kaycee, 13, was diagnosed with a brain tumour three years ago. She had been reading up on brain tumours ahead of her operation and suggested to her family about doing the challenge after seeing what other people had done in terms of fundraising.

South Wales Argus:

(L-R: Tyrone, 18, Luke, 38, Kaycee, 13 and Lucy Thomas, 20)

Kaycee – who also has Turner Syndrome - had an operation on Thursday, November 21, to remove the tumour.

Mr Thomas said: “It was just under seven hours. Waiting all that time was really hard.

“They managed to remove all of the tumour and it has been sent off for analysing.

“The staff at the University of Wales Hospital Cardiff were outstanding. It felt like we were walking into a private hospital with the level of care they provided.

“Kaycee came home on Wednesday and has been sleeping a lot. It’s going to be a long road to recovery for her.

“We’re going to keep going for charity with other events in the future too.”