A KIDDERMINSTER student who suffers chronic fatigue and joint inflammation will climb Kilimanjaro with five amputees, after forging an inspirational friendship with the most wounded British soldier to survive battle.

Lucinda Caddick, 34, will tackle the highest mountain in Africa to raise money for Pilgrim Bandits, a charity for forces amputees.

The student paediatric nurse who suffers from ME and Fibromyalgia, which causes pain in the tissues surrounding her joints, said: “Doing it with five amputees makes me more determined. My legs might ache but at least I’ve got my own legs. It makes me man up as the Pilgrim Bandits don’t do sympathy.”

She added: “There’s just no question I am not going to do it. Even if it kills me I am going to keep going.”

Miss Caddick became aware of the charity at an event three years ago, where she met Lance Bombardier Ben Parkinson of the 7th Parachute Regiment, who at the time communicated through an electronic lightwriter.

She said: “Ben is known as the most wounded British soldier to survive the battlefield, losing both his legs and having a total of 37 separate injuries. He was told that he would never walk or talk again, yet four years on he is proving the medics wrong on both counts.

“This is due both to his own dogged determination and the support of charities like Pilgrim Bandits. He is a real inspiration to me and he has taught me that anything is possible if you have self belief.”

The University of Worcester student has always been a supporter of the armed forces as her grandmother was a sister on a hospital ship in the Second World War, where she met her grandfather who was in the Royal Army Medical Corps.

Miss Caddick says she knows nothing about climbing and will be preparing by training hard at Fitness First in Kidderminster where she has been a member for a year.

She is hoping for sponsorship from local businesses to help her reach her £3,000 target and her local chip shop Foley’s Fish Bar in Kidderminster is the first to jump on board.

To sponsor visit bmycharity.com/pilgrimskilly01 and for more information on the charity visit pilgrimbandits.com.