THE family and friends of 88-year-old granddad Jack Platt, who died hours after being found following a two-day search, climbing Mount Snowdon on Sunday to raise funds to create an award in his memory.

Granddad-of-six Jack, who went missing from Reeve Court Retirement Village on Saturday, July 21, was found next to a lake in Waterside Village just after 3pm on Monday, July 23 following a community-led search.

However at 10.30pm that night, his family announced his death on Facebook, thanking those who helped find him by saying “our small town rallied together to help a man that they’d never met or heard about.”

After hundreds of messages from the community wanting to do something in the army veteran’s memory, his family have decided to set up a fundraising page with the aim to start an award for the St Helens Sea Cadets in Jack’s name for those who have done great deeds in the community.

To get up to their £1,250 goal, a group of his family and friends trekked up Mount Snowdon climb - which raised a further £325 in donations.

Family friend Paul Turner, 21, from Toll Bar, who organised the walk, said: We did it! We climbed Snowdon.

"Climbing Snowdon was the easy part because on the Crib Goch you essentially climb a mountain by hand and then work your way across the knife edge until reaching Snowdon you then climb down that mountain and up to the summit of snowdonia on a rocky track.

"We have known each other several years and have trained together many times. This enabled us the skills to be able to do this climb.

"It isn’t easy by any means, your whole body from the waist down take a battering however when your looking at them amazing views, got a picture of Jack in your Daysack and raising lots of money it’s phenomenal. We have raised over £300 and Briggs equipment UK have donated £250. I’m sure we did Jack proud."