Russ Wintle has never been a fan of heights. However, when a life-long friend died from liver cancer in 2023 aged just 56, he bravely took on a four-day challenge which involved abseiling, climbing, walking across a 40ft-high rope bridge and even indoor skydiving to raise money for the British Liver Trust.
The daredevil challenges were part of a 380-mile memory-making road trip in a 1959 Morris Minor which Russ organised with another friend, John Barnes. Along the way they visited Bolton, Rivington, Ingleton, Threshfield, Ilkley, Skipton, Haworth, Leigh, Ince-in-Makerfield, Vauxhall, Ellesmere Port and Rushup which spell out British Liver, to raise awareness of the charity and its vital campaigning work on early diagnosis and treatment of liver disease and improved patient care. 
Russ, 59, from Northwich said: “Liver disease and liver cancer rarely have symptoms in the early stages so my schoolfriend’s liver cancer was undiagnosed for too long. He tragically died just three days before his 57th birthday.
“Because my late friend had a daredevil mentality and loved hang gliding, John organised the daily challenges to pay homage to him and help overcome my morbid fear of heights!”
High winds meant that a planned hang-gliding session became an indoor skydiving lesson, and the Morris Minor (nicknamed Flora) broke down 50 miles before the end of the journey, forcing Russ and John to complete the challenge in a modern car. However, the pair were undeterred and still had a wonderful trip, raising £1,651 (including Gift Aid) for the Trust which Russ is hoping will be double-match-funded by his employer, Innospec Limited. If successful, that will take the total to almost £4,000.
Russ said: “I’ve led a sedentary life for the best part of 25 years, with a number of muscle/joint related ailments so these challenges were not easy. The abseiling and rope bridge were the hardest, I just couldn’t look down. And with the abseiling, I couldn’t look backwards to find the edge of the rock. I just focussed on feeding the rope through its guide. It was all about not thinking about what might happen or how high up I was, but believing I was safe, that I could do it and putting my trust in the equipment and people. 
“I wouldn’t say I no longer have any fear of heights, more a better mindset/technique to cope with that fear. All of that and those experiences over four days gave me a real sense of achievement and seeing the donations going up every day spurred me on.”
Audrey Cornelius, the British Liver Trust’s Director of Fundraising said: “For Russ to take on such a range of challenges when he doesn’t like heights shows real bravery and determination and we’re very grateful to him for fundraising for the British Liver Trust.
“Around 6,000 people are diagnosed with liver cancer every year and deaths have doubled in the past two decades. Currently, only three in 10 people are diagnosed at an early stage when the cancer is more treatable. Russ and John’s generous donation will help fund our campaigning work to ensure more people are diagnosed with liver cancer sooner.”
