A YORK man is gearing up to tackle a world record-breaking rugby match on Mount Everest.

David Fenton, from Thorganby, will be part of a team taking on an incredible attempt to set two Guinness World Records this Spring.

Retiree David, 61, is one of the participants in the LMAX Exchange Everest Rugby Challenge, which is aiming to raise £200,000 for children's rugby charity Wooden Spoon, for which David is a long-term volunteer.

He will join a team that includes four former international rugby players, Lee Mears (England) and Shane Williams (Wales), who boast almost 140 international caps between them, Ollie Phillips, a former international Rugby Sevens star, and Tamara Taylor, who has represented England more than 100 times.

The two records the team are aiming for are to stage the highest altitude game of full contact rugby and the highest altitude game of mixed touch rugby in history.

The players will set off on April 13 for a scheduled 24-day trek, battling acclimatisation and an altitude of 6,500 metres to stage their record-breaking attempt.

David said: "Being part of a team raising funds for a good cause and climbing Everest to play rugby there will be an epic undertaking.

"I have raised money for Wooden Spoon in the past and this seems like the ultimate challenge.

"To see the money raised there being spent on local projects also makes it feel really personal."

All funds raised by David will go to charitable projects across Yorkshire, using the power of rugby to positively transform the lives of children and young people with disabilities and those facing disadvantage.

Wooden Spoon CEO Sarah Webb said: "Every day, children and young people around the UK and Ireland attempt to overcome their own personal Everest.

"We are so pleased to have David on board, representing the people of Yorkshire [and] the money he raises will help support charities in his area."

To find out more and support David's fundraising go to uk.virginmoneygiving.com/DavidFenton6 and follow his challenge at davidfenton-everestchallenge.com

The Everest challenge is sponsored by financial technology company LMAX Exchange Group.