TEN-year-old Sam Wild (above) took on a 10,000ft mountain challenge to top off the holiday of a lifetime.

Sam, a Year 6 pupil at Oakhill College, Whalley, climbed to new heights with his mother and grandfather when he visited the French Alps.

The youngster was a member of an Oakhill party which went on an activity week in the Lake District early in the summer.

He found it so inspiring that when he visited his grandparents on holiday he could not resist taking testing out his new-found mountaineering skills.

Sam's grandparents live on the edge of the Massif des Ecrins, an area which includes some of the highest summits in the French Alps.

Sam persuaded his grandfather, John Wild, to accompany him on an adventure which involved staying in a mountain refuge at 8,400ft.

Sam said: "I was amazed by the size of the glacier nearby and couldn't believe that it was moving at 80 metres each year."

The youngster then went on to climb to well over 10,000ft.

Mr Wild said: " I was indeed a very proud grandfather but I was aware of just how much encouragement and inspiration had been given to him by his Oakhill activity week and the teachers and instructors who had made it possible."