A TOUCHING tribute to a popular West Fife man has been left at Everest Basecamp by his dear friend.

Dave Roper, also known as the Duloch Spiderman, has been taking part in a charity fundraising trek to the basecamp with his dad Kevin.

He carried a picture of his friend Connor Burns with him to the 17,600ft (5,389m) high camp so he could make one last journey.

Connor, who tragically passed away four weeks ago at the age of 24, had quadriplegic cerebral palsy, a bend in his neck, and a bend in his spine, which meant that he was unable to travel abroad during his life. To make sure her son could travel at least once, Pauline Gear asked Dave if she could take a picture of her beloved son up Everest with him.

Dunfermline Press: Connor sadly passed away four weeks ago.Connor sadly passed away four weeks ago. (Image: Family photo)

She told the Press: “We lost Connor four weeks ago today (Tuesday) actually, so it was quite poignant that he actually made it there today.

"Connor and Dave had quite a close relationship beforehand, Dave and all the superheroes came around one year for Connor's birthday and Connor just used to go see Dave all the time. He used to pop around or he would say to me, 'tell Dave to come around’. They were just really close.

“After he passed, I knew Dave was going up Everest, and because of Connors disabilities, he was never able to go abroad, so I asked Dave if he would mind carrying up there with him a picture of Connor and putting him up there so he could see a bigger bit of the world.

“He would have loved the fact that it was Dave and that he had been in his backpack the whole way. He’s basically been on the trek with him, and he would have thought it was absolutely brilliant that he got to go do this.”

While there was uncertainty as to when Dave would be able to set up the small memorial for his pal, Pauline is finding comfort in him reaching the base camp four weeks to the day of her son's death.

She continued: “When he messaged me this morning, it was about an hour before Connor would have passed. It caught us all a bit unexpectedly and we were all sat in floods of tears as soon as he sent the video saying he was there.

“But it brought us a lot of joy as well, if there's any way to mark four weeks of him not being here, then that’s the best way to mark it.

“It’s been a hard day, but it’s been a good day at the same time because he would have loved it."

Pauline and her family have been keeping that spirit alive and creating a positive legacy for Connor. When he passed away, they set up a GoFundMe to raise money for a charity that Connor loved so much, the Children’s Hospices Across Scotland (CHAS).

"Connor was always positive about everything, it didn’t matter what mood he was in or how he was feeling, if he was sore or not feeling himself, he woke up every morning with a smile on his face and if something bad happened he always found a way to turn it into a positive." She said.

“We’re trying to make everything about Connors past a positive one, not a negative one.”

The fundraiser has already raised an incredible £2,794 but his family are determined to reach their £5,000 goal and make a huge difference in Connor's name.

"The thing about Connor, he was always just full of joy, happiness and empathy, he was just one of those people. The sheer amount of people that turned up at his funeral, it was quite overwhelming because we knew he had an impact on people but to what extent you never know. We're just grateful that he did manage to touch that many people's lives and make a difference."

To help them reach their goal, Pauline will be taking the lead on their next fundraising event. She’s going skydiving later in the year, an activity that would have had her son cracking up.

She added: “He kept asking us if we could arrange a bungee jump in his wheelchair, and I said, ‘no you can’t’. If we had let him, he’d have done anything. He’d have strapped his whole wheelchair into a rollercoaster if he’d been allowed to.

"I thought, he always wanted to do a bungee jump, so I know he’d be up there saying ‘ha ha!"

To donate to the fund and help Connor help even more people, visit his GoFundMe page.