A young man, who has never been abroad alone before, is climbing Kilimanjaro to raise funds for a  heart charity in memory of a school friend.

Chris Cockburn, 20, went to school with Tom Clabburn, who died in 2007 aged 14, from an undiagnosed heart condition. Since then Tom's family and friends have raised thousands of pounds for the charity, Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY) which has paid for screenings.

Chris of Gloucester Road, Ealing still remembers the shock that reverberated throughout the school when they were told of Tom's death and feels it is time to do something to raise awareness.

He said: "I went to primary and high school with Tom so knew him since I was four. He was so chatty and energetic. When we were all taken into the gym and told that Tom had died we were in absolute shock; one of those echo chambers of sadness. That is why CRY is such an important thing. This happens to young people, not just older people. It's not just about raising money, but awareness and how important it is to get tested.

"This is the first time I have done something for CRY, but life passes by, so I thought I want to do something now."

He admitted he had never been abroad before without his parents and was not particularly fit so the whole experience is somewhat daunting. He said: "I have started training by doing some running. I thought the cardio bit will serve me well going up a mountain, but I am quite unfit."

Chris is taking a gap year teaching science in schools across west London and child-minding before going to Roehampton University to take a primary education course. He also plans to teach in an orphanage while he is out there, but has no idea where he will be posted.

Chris, who leaves on January 5, said: "I won't know where I am going to teach until I get there so it will be a huge surprise. It will be a totally different experience. My mum is in a state as I will be in a foreign country for six weeks with possibly no contact. She's already buying alcohol rubs. She's done more planning than me. My dad's just warned me about altitude sickness!"

Tom's dad, Paul Clabburn, said: "It's fantastic that Chris has agreed to do this. We appreciate that it's a real test of character to take on a mountain such as Kilimanjaro and we all hope Chris enjoys the experience and returns safely.

"We also think it's brilliant Chris will be using the rest of his time in Kenya to help others. He got in touch after we finally launched a website last month, www.tomclabburnfund.co.uk, to let people know what Tom's Fund is trying to achieve.

"While there's always a lot of negative publicity about what young people do and don't do, we've found the opposite. Since we lost Tom there has been tremendous support from his age group and a willingness to take on a variety of challenges to raise funds and awareness f