A Dumbarton man is going through a special challenge along three others to raise money for new equipment at Kilpatrick School.

Sandy Meikle, 33, is completing the gruelling Tough Mudder assault course to fundraise for outdoor equipment for the school, which provides education for children with additional support needs across West Dunbartonshire from birth to the age of 18.

He's attempting to raise £1500 to pay for the new equipment to help the school, which his six-year-old autistic son Charlie attends.

It's the third time that Sandy will attempt the challenge, having completed the previous two attempts in support of a local autism charity, and says that he was motivated this year after finding out that the school had a charitable arm that he could support.

Sandy said: "We're looking to raise money for equipment in the gardens and it's important because I know that it will help them big time and help them to work with peers in the garden and help them to socialise, which is one of the main problems for those with autism.

"I didn't really know that Kilpatrick was a charity and I feel that it's been overlooked by a lot of people fundraising in the area and so I got in touch with the school and asked them what they wanted and how much we needed to raise."

As part of the fund, taxi driver Sandy has put up a notice about the Tough Mudder challenge and asked them to donate, as well as giving up a month's worth of tips to the cause.

He continued: "Since I started putting in the taxi, I've been surprised by the numbers who have links to the school and it touches a lot of people. I know that the school has printed out a sponsor form in the parent's pad in the school, and another in the staff room, and that's been a great help."

The Tough Mudder race takes place at Drumlanrig Castle in the Borders and is a 12-mile muddy assault course, with 20 obstacles to be faced every half mile, including scaling a 20-foot 'Everest' ramp, climbing up a tube against a flow of freezing water, and even running through a field of electric wires.

Despite this, Sandy insists that he enjoys the challenge: "It's actually really fun. We're training by doing lots of running and trail running, including 16 or 17 kilometre runs up Conic Hill, sometimes having to do them in the dark during the winter months.

"You also have to do a lot of gym work to get prepared, as you need half decent upper body strength to get over some of the obstacles. I've entered the Vale of Leven 10k in a couple of weeks for a bit of training."

So far, Sandy has raised £230 of his target via his JustGiving page, which is available at https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/kilpatrickschools.