THE brother of a 28-year-old man who died after collapsing in the street is to climb Mount Kilimanjaro to raise money for charity.

Richard Lord, 33, wants to raise £5,500 for Epilepsy Action after his younger brother Andrew, who had heart problems and suffered epilepsy, died in January last year.

After his death, Coronation Street star Julie Hesmondalgh described the keen amateur dramatics enthusiast, who was a member of Blackburn’s Gilbert and Sullivan Society, as ‘absolutely wonderful’ and ‘a real love’.

Andrew’s death marked a double tragedy, as the pair’s mother, Karina, died in 2011 from cancer.

Richard has raised £3,340 and said he hopes that Andrew, who lived in Clitheroe all his life, would be proud of what he had challenged himself to do.

Richard, who grew up in Clitheroe, will set off on Wednesday, October 2 and aims to reach the summit on Thursday, October 10.

The dad-of-one, who works as a systems engineer at BAE Sysems, said: “I was the quiet and shy one and Andrew was much more outgoing. He was a great friend to me, despite the regular brotherly disagreements.

“I can't describe how much I miss him and my Kilimanjaro trek is in his memory. I hope that I would have made him proud of me doing this.

“It’s going to be huge challenge and I have never done anything like this before. I’m looking forward to it and I hope I can come back with a picture of me at the top.”

To sponsor Richard or for more information visit his JustGiving page: www.justgiving.com/LordRichard