Deaf man from Eastbourne in tough outdoor Comic Relief task

Oliver Pritchard, 25, from Eastbourne, is undertaking a series of physically demanding tasks in the harshest areas of the Lake District, with the first taking place this weekend.

It is his latest effort to raise money for the Elizabeth Foundation, a charity that supported Oliver and his family when they discovered he was completely deaf at just 12 months old.

“They were shocked that their own child that was all-hearing went to all-deaf - my parents had no history or experience with deaf children,” he said.

The two teams are working together to raise money for Comic Relief

“The Elizabeth Foundation came and pretty much rescued us, and said ‘yes, your child is slightly different, but he is still able to live with his peers’, and they taught my parents how to deal with me.

“The amount of support they’ve given me is huge, and this is one way of me giving credit back.”

Oliver believes he is a “better person” due to his experience, and said he sees the world through a different lens due to his deafness.

“It’s actually an advantage in its own right. I genuinely believe I am a better person than I would have been [without deafness]. There’s invisible barriers that you have in your life, which I have to face every day.”

Oliver is now a triathlete, and hopes to progress to a level of competing on the international stage, representing Great Britain.

Making use of his athleticism, he is teaming up with three other young fundraisers to take on the Lake District challenge. They will be split into two teams, which will be led by BBC presenters Angellica Bell and Owain Wyn Evans.

Oliver Pritchard was found to be deaf at 12 months old

It comes as part of Comic Relief’s continuing partnership with BBC’s The One Show, following a successful "red nose and spoon race" last year.

The Lake District challenge will not be revealed until the last minute but the contestants know they will have to do the red nose on the spoon as part of it.

“I haven’t been told what challenges are going to be ahead,” said Oliver.

“It's trying to get us into our discomfort zones, we’re going in in the dark.”

The teams will face many challenges along the way as they traverse a specially designed route across the Lake District.

They must keep the red nose on the spoon as they approach the finish line, picking up time penalties for every time it is dropped.

Owain Wyn Evans, captain of Oliver’s Blue team, said: “I think we’ll learn a lot about ourselves, I’ll probably learn whether I can balance a red nose on a spoon or not.

Angella Bell and Owain Wyn Evans will be leading the teams

“I do remember taking part in an egg and spoon race at my school and not being very good at it. So that’s good news for Angellica. But we’re doing it for a great cause so whether it’s the Blue Team or the Yellow Team that end up winning – it doesn’t matter.”

The winning team will be announced live on The One Show on Thursday, March 17.

READ MORE: Lake District National Park calls for 150 volunteers

Oliver’s story will feature on the show on Thursday, March 3, where viewers can catch up with fundraisers before they begin the challenge.