by Charlotte Hayward

Kent-born rugby star Josh Lewsey MBE is getting ready to climb Mount Everest today.

The former British Lion has been waiting for days at Advanced Base Camp for the weather to clear so he can carry on.

He’s hoping to complete the trek with his Army pal Major Keith Reesby who he met at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst.

The two of them want to raise money for Help the Heroes and Combat Stress.

They’re both charities close to the men’s hearts.

Josh, from Bromley, said: “Keith and I have been incredibly lucky, served in four tours between us and we still have all our limbs.

"Others haven’t been so lucky. And its not just physical injures.

"We want to help those who have been psychologically damaged by modern warfare."

Josh Lewsey speaks from Advanced Base Camp

Mr Lewsey said waiting for the weather to clear has been similar to preparing to play in the Rugby World Cup Final in 2003.

He said: “It’s a mixture of trepidation and a good dose of fear; but I know these will be memories which I will keep for the rest of my life.”

Tomorrow the pair will enter the "death zone" which is 8,200m above sea level.

They will start breathing supplemental oxygen as the air is brutally thin.

Rescue is all but impossible and sudden changes in the weather could prove critical.

The mountain has already claimed one more life, just this season.