THE cousin of a man who died tragically when climbing in Dorset has completed the Three Peaks Challenge in his memory.

The body of medicine student Liam Day, 26, who grew up in St Helens, was found at the end of June, two weeks after he went climbing on Dorset's Jurassic Coast.

On Saturday (August 13), Liam's cousin Jonathan McGinn, 22, and friends Patrick Loughnane and Mathew Cliffe took on the challenge - climbing Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Mount Snowdon in under 24 hours - raising more than £2,000 for Dorset Search and Rescue.

Former De La Salle pupil Jonathan, a consultant who lives in Windle, said: "My cousin went out solo climbing and didn't return home.

"Despite the courageous efforts of the rescue services, Liam was not found until two weeks later when his body was spotted from a passing yacht.

"Liam was a friendly, caring and loving person who will be greatly missed by his incredibly vast amount of friends and family."

He added: "In memory of Liam, me and two friends did the Three Peak Challenge. We started with Ben Nevis, climbing to the 4,409ft summit at 5.50am. We then drove five-and-a-half hours to the Lake District, where we climbed to the summit of Scafell Pike at 3,209ft.

"Then it was four hours to Snowdonia, where we climbed our third and final mountain, Snowdon, overnight at 3,560ft.

"We managed to do it in 23 hours and 34 minutes, with 26 minutes to spare!"

Jonathan's dad and Liam's uncle, Mark McGinn said: "Liam was my sister's son - they moved from Dentons Green to the Lake District when Liam was around 11.

"He and his brother Luke were very close to my sons Jonathan and Michael - they were all similar ages.

"Liam was very outdoorsy, it was in his blood to go climbing. We are all still heartbroken at what happened."

He added: "We are proud of what Jonathan and his friends have achieved. They wanted to do something in recognition of Dorsar's attempts to find and rescue Liam."

To make a donation to Dorsar (Dorset Search and Rescue), go to justgiving.com/crowdfunding/LiamDay.