The brother of a young man who died in a tragic road accident has vowed to honour his 40th birthday this year with a series of gruelling challenges.
Matthew Stuart died following a one-vehicle road traffic collision just outside Ballynahinch, Co Down, on April 16, 2020. With his death coming at a time when the world was in lockdown, his funeral had ten people at it - something that was tough for his family, who describe Matt as "a real people person".
His brother Richard is taking on a mountain challenge next month, to raise money for the Air Ambulance, who were tasked to the scene of Matt's incident - his injuries, however, were so severe, he could not be saved despite their best efforts. Matthew, who was originally from the Ballynahinch area tragically died at the scene.
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Speaking to Belfast Live, Richard said: "Matt was my younger brother by three years and was a car salesman in Ballyrobert in Bangor. He was furloughed in the first lockdown and took his motorbike out one day and had an accident about three miles outside of Ballynahinch. It was a fatal accident.
"He was 36, and died two days off his 37th birthday. At the time, all the restrictions were in place, so it was hard. Matt had a massive circle of friends from all walks of life and he was a real people person too and there was only ten people at the funeral because of Covid.
"We thought we would do a memorial service after that but Covid continued and it never felt right to do it. We always would have joked that Matt was like Peter Pan, because he never seemed to get older, so the fact that he would be turning 40 wouldn't have been something he'd shout about. He would have got a bit of stick for it.
"I used to do mountaineering a long time ago, and I wanted to do something big for Matt, so why not give this challenge a shot. Me and seven others are travelling over to Scotland, to Ben Nevis on April 13 and we will do a mountain a day after that."
In Matt's honour, they plan to climb the four highest mountains in each of the four regions of the UK over four days in April.
They'll start with Ben Nevis in Scotland on April 14, then on to Scafell Pike in the North of England on April 16, then Snowdon in Wales on April 17 and finishing at home, with the Slieve Donard. They'll end the challenge on April 18, which would have been Matthew's 40th birthday.
"The combined ascent and descent totals 8516m which is just short of Mount Everest’s elevation at 8848m," Richard added.
"We are doing this for the Air Ambulance, who came out to the scene of the accident on that day. Even though his injuries were so severe, and they weren't able to save him, when speaking to witnesses, they told us they were blown away by the professionalism of the crew.
"The Air Ambulance saves lives every day and they gave Matt every chance that he could have had. We set a target of £5,500 to start with, and we passed that - so we increased it again.
"To those people who have donated so far, we want to give a huge thanks. You never know the day that you, or somebody you know, could need an Air Ambulance and it is vital. It need continual efforts and support, big or small."
Please click here to donate to the family's fundraiser.
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