Man, 90, raises £2k after climbing church steeple

A 90-year-old man has raised thousands of pounds for charity after fulfilling a lifelong ambition of climbing a church spire for the "thrill" of it.

Joe Hobbs scaled the steeple of Thaxted Parish Church, in Essex, on Sunday, as crowds of supporters and his family watched on from below.

The plucky pensioner, who has lived in the town for 60 years, climbed the historical, 181ft (55m) tall building with the help of a team of steeplejacks.

Former military man Mr Hobbs's impressive ascent, organised in celebration of his birthday, has raised nearly £2,000 for the Royal British Legion.

"Since my 65th birthday, in five year intervals, I've said to my children to not buy me any presents, but to put the money to charity for which I will do something," he told the BBC.

"I did national service but I didn't see any action, but I just wanted to support the people who put their lives on the line and sometimes don't survive or get terribly injured."

Before he ventured up the church, crowds were treated to a performance from a group of Morris dancers - which included Mr Hobbs himself.

"I do it about once a week on average and might be the oldest Morris dancer in the world, but while I can still do it reasonably well, I will do it," he said.

Mr Hobbs, who used to be a rock climber, came up with the idea of making his dream a reality after bumping into steeplejacks who were inspecting the spire.

After informing them of his intention to climb the spire, believed to be the only medieval stone spire in Essex, "they agreed to chaperone" him to the top and back down again.

"My wife died in 2020 and she would have said 'You are not doing that', but she would have cooperated in the end," said Mr Hobbs, who last year ran a half marathon for charity.

"My family is very supportive and I always wanted to climb the spire, because I was a rock climber before I got married, so it was about giving me back the thrill of climbing at exposed heights."

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