Nearly 10 years after a teenager died from previously undiagnosed leukaemia, his best friend has completed a mountainous task in his memory.

Ben Johnson was only 17 when, after a hard night of boxing training with Elliott Reid, he bent down to tie his shoelace unaware his spleen had swollen to fight the cancer.

As he did, his spleen ruptured, and he died later that night back in 2007.

His family and friends set up the Ben Johnson Forget Me Not Foundation to fundraise for cancer charities.

Elliott completed a three peaks challenge in 24 hours and raised £5,500 for leukaemia research.

He flew to Scotland to climb Ben Nevis, then drove to the Lake District to conquer Scafell Pike, and finished in Wales at the summit of Snowdon.

Elliott, a personal trainer at Revitalise Health and Fitness Clinic in Gravesend, went with a client, Natasha Lock, and her friend.

He said: “It was tough. We were battling horizontal rain, freezing temperatures and 60mph winds on the first mountain, soaking all our spare clothing, before heading to scorching temperatures in Snowdonia.

“It was more mentally difficult than I expected, staying completely focused for 24 hours. I knew I couldn’t let the thought of tiredness enter my head, I just had to push on.

“It was great to see what I could do. I was kept grounded knowing that children all around the world are battling terminal cancers. If they can do that, I could definitely do this.”

Elliott and Ben were best friends from their time at Gravesend Grammar School.

Elliott also asked people to set him various challenges in exchange for a donation, including £50 for a nine-mile run, and one handed boxing matches.

He also tried things that were a bit more out of his comfort zone, including getting his nails painted, trying pole dancing and getting his legs waxed.