A ROSS-ON-WYE rector has raised £2,500 in sponsorship after climbing a virtual Table Mountain.

The Reverend Sean Semple, originally from South Africa and now the Rector of Ross-on-Wye, accepted a challenge from parishioners last week and agreed to climb a virtual Table Mountain.

With his stairs decorated with flowers and animals found on the mountain, and a picture of Nelson Mandela for inspiration, Sean set off on his climb. Sean decided it would “more fun” to take on the challenge dressed in his cassock and so set off from the hall.

In two hours and 31 minutes, he had climbed up and down the stairs 367 times, covering a distance of five kilometres and a height of 1,025 meters. The Rectory is 60m above sea level so he was let off the first 60 meters to reach the summit of 1085m!

Sean has raised £2,500 in sponsorship as well as creating a record for climbing the stairs the most times in a cassock in one morning!