Climber Les rubs shoulders with royalty at Buckingham Palace

Former soldier Leslie, of Wath, received his medal from Princess Alexandra last Tuesday after twice abandoning his dream of reaching the summit of Mount Everest to save the lives of fellow climbers.

The dad-of-one was nominated for the award by Sandy Loder, founder of Peak Dynamics - a company which helped him during his climbs.

Leslie was joined on his trip to the capital by fiancée Lindsey Emprigham, mum Cath Binns and Sandy.

Leslie (43) said: “It was a cracking day and a fantastic experience.

“We were ushered through into one of the rooms in the building, which was amazing. 

“The amount of history in that building is incredible.”

Leslie was presented with his medal by The Honourable Lady Ogilvy.

“We had a little chit-chat and she said what I did was very brave and she was a lovely woman to speak to,” he said.

“She had a chat with my mum and asked her if she had any idea where my adventurous streak came from and my mum said I was always escaping as a kid.

“It was just an amazing day.”