Army veteran crawls two UK peaks on hands and knees in agonising challenge to boost awareness on suicide rate
Jay Millard, who served tours in Afghanistan and Iraq, told LBC that the challenge was one of the hardest he'd ever done
An army veteran successfully crawled two of the UK's highest peaks on his hands and knees in an attempt to shed light on suicide rates among servicemen and women.
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Warning: Contains distressing images
Jay Millard, who once tried to take his own life after serving tours in Afghanistan and Iraq, is campaigning for more support to be offered to veterans leaving the military in what he describes as a critical issue.
He travelled to Wales, where he successfully crawled Pen y Fan in three hours and ten minutes, before tackling Snowdon in just five hours the following day last month.
Jay, a former Lance Corporal with the Yorkshire Regiment, is now urging more funding to be rolled out to support charities helping ex-servicemen and women.
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Speaking after the mammoth feat, the 36-year-old from Hull told LBC: "To be honest I definitely underestimated it.
"After doing Fan I had to really battle my thoughts because my knees were in absolute agony.
"I felt the pain from early on in the challenge. I felt it in my shoulders, traps, shoulders and core.
"I was wearing knee pads but it was still very painful. When I was on Snowdon I just wanted to get it done.
"It got to the point I had to shut off and go to a different place mentally and completely ignore what was going on with my body.
"I was so close to backing out on the morning of doing Snowdon but it was amazing to finish it."
In a range of challenges completed so far, Jay has raised around £10,000 in total for mental health services.
Earlier this year, the MOD released its latest data for suicide among the UK regular Armed Forces covering 2005 to 2024.
They showed 281 personnel took their own lives in that period, and the highest rate among males in the Army was aged 24 or under.
The report said that the number of male suicides had increased since 2017, but the rate among those in the Armed Forces is still lower than for men in the UK general population.
Jay, who now works as a facilities manager, completed the latest mission for Combat Stress, the UK's leading veterans' mental health charity, and is eyeing Mount Fuji for his next crawl in 2026.
The challenges required months of strenuous training, including boxing, cardiovascular and heavy upper body weights.
"I had about 16 hours from starting the first one to starting Snowdon the next morning," he said.
"I had to take little breaks to allow the blood flow to get back to normal as I had tape around my legs.
"There was a lot of cloud cover but we did manage to get some beautiful views.
"It was extremely worthwhile at the end when I eventually reached the top."
"He added: "I do these challenges off my own back but the community have been fantastic.
"I have received help from veterans charities in the past but there needs to be more access out there.
"Combat Stress are very niche in terms of diagnosing and looking into CPTSD, which is complex post-traumatic stress disorder, and then looking at recovery for veterans.
"They do programmes something for each individual, which I find is really well needed because everyone is different.
"Mental health conditions can completely vary, so you can't treat everyone as a complete blanket. Everyone's very unique.
"This is a big issue for veterans. There are lots of suicides that don't even get reported and are missed off the radar.
"It's about raising awareness that you don't have to go through it alone.
"It is a political issue that there is not enough funding being rolled out.
"I also think a lot of veterans' charities need to start coming to work together now because you sometimes see competition with some of them."
Robert Marsh, Director of Fundraising at Combat Stress, said: "We are extremely grateful to Jay for taking on such a gruelling challenge for veterans’ mental health.
"Crawling to the summit of not one, but two major peaks is a truly staggering feat, and we have no doubt that his efforts will have inspired others to do their bit for those battling with military-related trauma.
"Some 73 per cent of those who undertake our treatment recover, meaning they no longer meet the clinical criteria for a PTSD diagnosis.
"This is an incredible impact, much higher than the recovery rate achieved by other mental health services for PTSD, yet we simply could not continue being able to provide this life-changing treatment to every veteran who turns to us for help, without the support from incredible and selfless fundraisers like Jay."
To donate, visit here: https://www.justgiving.com/page/crawlingforcombatstress.