THE saying “If the mountain won’t come to Muhammad, Muhammad must go to the mountain.” is definitely true for one St Neots man.

THE saying “If the mountain won’t come to Muhammad, Muhammad must go to the mountain.” is definitely true for one St Neots man.

Karl Bucknell, 27, is preparing to fly out to Africa to climb Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest free-standing mountain in the world.

At a colossal 5,895 meters above sea level, and rising from the plains of Tanzania, many would shy away from the challenge.

But for the self-confessed wild-life nut, it is the perfect way of raising money for his beloved charity, the BBC Wildlife Fund.

Karl told The Hunts Post: “I’ve been so inspired by watching other people raise money for charity by doing something ‘big’ that I wanted to do it myself.

“I decided to join up with a Charity Challenge led trek to Kilimanjaro to try and raise as much money as possible for the BBC Wildlife Fund.

They’re always striving to save endangered creatures – and it’s such a worthy cause.”

Karl will fly out to Tanzania on September 10 and begin the nine-day trek the following day.

But before then, there is the task of as raising as much money as possible to fund the Charity Challenge itself.

Karl added: “I can’t thank everyone enough for all the support they’ve shown up to now and I really hope to build on that and smash my target of �4000.”

As part of his fundraising effort, Karl is hosting a party at the Eaton Socon football club on April 16, which will include a disco, auction, raffle, quiz, competitions and buffet.

Up to now, he’s managed to secure a signed football from Arsenal, some Swarowski crystal and other top prizes for auction.

If you would like to support Karl in his quest, you can e-mail him on Kilimanjarokarl@gmail.com or call for tickets on 07792 909314. You can also make donations directly to Karl’s Just Giving site by visiting http://www.justgiving.com/Karl-Bucknell