DUNBAR United’s chaplain has climbed Scotland’s highest mountain in a bid to encourage people to open up and talk.

James Stout was part of the group making their way up Ben Nevis last month in aid of Sports Chaplaincy UK.

Members of the group went on to climb the highest peaks in each of Wales, England, the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

The fundraiser has collected more than £20,000, which will rise to nearly £22,000 thanks to Gift Aid.

Sports Chaplaincy UK aims to offer pastoral help to anyone who is involved in sport, whether that be playing or in a committee capacity.

He said: “I volunteer for the organisation called Sports Chaplaincy UK.

“What we were trying to do was raise funds so we can place more chaplains.

“There is a huge number of clubs that don’t have that in place and it also coincided with Mental Health Awareness Month in May.

“It is OK to walk and talk; getting outside, getting some fresh air and chatting with a mate just with the purpose of improving your mental health hugely.

“That was the two points we were trying to get across.”

The father-of-two, who works as a business analyst for NatWest, told the Courier he was a regular walker but it was usually more on the flat of the county.

He said of the challenge: “It was good.

“I had never done a Munro before and it was tough.

“I do a fair bit of walking but on the flat and was not really prepared for the impact on the calves.

“But it was great fun and we had great weather.”

James, who lives in Dunbar, was previously chaplain at Dunbar’s fellow East of Scotland Football League side Whitehill Welfare.

He said: “Primarily, the role is to offer pastoral support to primarily the footballers but also the coaches and anybody associated with the club.

“The club makes a big focus on making sure the physical wellbeing is looked after and the role of the chaplain is the mental health and making sure mentally they are looked after.

“That would be the primary focus and to make sure they know they have got somebody they can talk to, whether it is about football or life in general.”

Now, having been involved at New Countess Park for more than a year, he is encouraging people to open up about any potential struggles.

The 42-year-old said: “The benefit of a chaplain is quite often as guys we are pretty poor at reaching out to friends and family.

“So, we do not always feel we can talk about stuff and we try to put a brave face on it with phrases like ‘man up’ and that sort of thing, but the reality is everybody faces challenges and they need somebody to listen to them.”

Donate at stewardship.org.uk/pages/5PeakChallenge