A Nailsea resident will be abseiling 165ft off the Forth Rail Bridge in Scotland this month, with the aim of raising £1,000 for the charity that taught him to ski, Disability Snowsport UK (DSUK).

Josh McDonagh, 31, was born with cerebral palsy spastic quadriplegic.

He first discovered his love for skiing eight years ago after an encounter with DSUK at The Snow Centre in Hemel Hempstead.

Recalling the first meeting, Mr McDonagh said: "I had no idea that I would be able to ski.

"As soon as I met the Disability Snowsport UK team at Hemel Hempstead, they talked to me about my impairments and how I found living with them, what worked for me and what didn't.

"As soon as I left the top of the slope at Hemel, I absolutely loved it and was soon craving to get better and better.”

Since then, he became a regular attendee at the centre's sessions.

He progressed from using a bi-ski, a skiing device with two specially designed "curvier" skis under the chair, to mastering a monoski with a singular regular ski under the seat.

He has since ventured from Hemel Hempstead to the mountains of Norway and Andorra.

Mr McDonagh found more than just the thrill of the sport in his journey: "While skiing in Andorra was awesome, there was something else the Disability Snowsport UK holidays gave me: an incredible group of friends."

He has used this to help develop inclusive design guidance to remove barriers for disabled people.

His abseiling challenge in June isn't just for the adrenaline rush; it's digesting a shocking statistic by the Activity Alliance in June 2022 that confirmed six out of every 10 disabled people do not feel they can be as active as they wish.

He said: "Moments before I begin my abseil, probably trembling in anticipation, I'm going to be thinking of the six in ten disabled people who do not feel they can be as active as they want to be."

Mr McDonagh, who also contributes to Network Rail’s Built Environment Accessibility Panel, added: "I’m really happy to take on this challenge for a charity that plays such an important role in helping people get more active, make friends and build confidence through snowsports.”

The abseil is set to take place Sunday, 16 June.

To aid his fundraising efforts for DSUK, donations can be made on Josh McDonagh's JustGiving page.