The great-uncle of a Fife toddler with an extremely rare condition has made history by conquering Romania’s highest mountain in a kilt.
Jock McInnes became the first to scale 8,346-ft Modoveanu in the Highland garb to raise money for two-year-old Lloyd Penman.
Lloyd, of Kennoway, is the only child in Scotland with the gene mutation STXBP1 encephalopathy which causes abnormal brain function.
He may never be able to talk and walk fully and has suffered hundreds of seizures in his short life.
Adventurous Jock, of Scone, is no stranger to charity endeavours and made reaching the peak for the youngster his latest mission.
Lloyd’s parents Sean, Jock’s nephew, and Amber have already taken the youngster to Florida to learn more about his condition from other families affected, thanks to fund raising by family, friends and supporters.
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Jock said: “Lloyd is such a wonderful, lovely little boy and it has been such a hard time for the family.
“It is a very rare disease and the money raised will help going into the future with his condition.”
The 62-year-old, who works for Sense Scotland in Dundee, has already raised £2 million for local and national charities, having taken on some of the most treacherous terrains in the world.
He has walked through the Sahara and Gobi desserts and climbed Mount Kilimanjaro and Elbrus, in Russia. His services to charity earned him an MBE from the Queen in 2014.
With donations still coming in, Jock hopes his latest venture will hit £1,500, but he admitted the climb was tough, especially with bare legs.
He said: “During the eight-day trek we had to carry all our supplies, etc, for four days as there was no road support.
“We were trekking from mountain hut to mountain hut.
“I have always done my trips in a kilt and I had been informed I would be the first to climb Moldoveanu peak in one, which was confirmed by both our guides and the Romanian mountain troops who I met on the summit.
“They were making their annual maintenance check on the summit pole and they couldn’t believe someone was on this summit wearing a kilt.”
