AN airman will have his head in the clouds – without the help of an aircraft.

Thom Dobson has set himself the challenge of climbing one of the world’s highest active volcanoes to raise money for charity.

A senior aircraftman at RAF Leeming, he has already started training for the tough expedition to climb Cotopaxi in Ecuador at the end of October.

Although already an experienced member of Leeming’s mountain rescue team, the 23-year-old will need to be super fit to achieve the peak which clocks in at almost 6,000m.

And to make things harder he will be spending four months of his training time on operational deployment to the Falkland Islands in his military role of maintaining service vehicles.

“I heard that a friend was going on an expedition out there to raise funds for charity and it really appealed to me,” he said.

“The photos I’ve seen look amazing – it will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I’m a bit nervous about altitude sickness but I’m sure I’ll achieve my goal.”

He is hoping that his endeavours will raise £2,000 for the Royal Air Forces Association.

“I know people who have benefitted from the charity so it seemed like something really good to support. They are there for families as well as the service person.”

Anyone wishing to help him achieve his charity goal can donate at justgiving.com/Thom-Dobson