FOR some it is a day they suffer understandable anger and feelings of ‘why did this happen to me’.

But former soldier Andy Reid marked his latest ‘Alive Day’ — the term used by some troops to describe the anniversary they survived serious war injuries — by pushing his wounded body to scale a mountain.

As reported in last week’s Star, Andy chose to climb Mount Showdon five years to the day since treading on an improvised explosive while on tour in Afghanistan. The blast caused him to lose his lower legs and right arm.

In an interview with the Star, this week Andy, 38, also revealed how he drew inspiration from the late Steve Prescott as he embarked on the trek.

Iron-willed Andy took part in the climb with friend and former soldier Stewart Harris, who was blinded in one eye also while in Afghanistan, and the Sun newspaper’s acting defence editor, David Willetts.

All three have raised £1,160 for the charity The Not Forgotten Association which provides leisure opportunities for injured ex service personnel.

Since losing three limbs, Andy has amazed with his feats of courage and determination but he looks to others for inspiration.

He told the Star: “A lot of strength I get is from Steve (Prescott).

“He was a massive inspiration. When I was in rehab he helped me reset my life. To deal with the problems he had took strength.”

Andy said scaling Snowdon was an important way to mark the anniversary: “A lot of people call it their ‘alive day’. Some go to the pub and get drunk and talk about what happened. Some get angry.

“I thought rather than do that I would get on with my life and do something challenging. I know it’s not the highest mountain in the world but it’s a challenge.

“You could get down and miserable about things but I saw my injuries as a door being opened rather than shut.

“And I chose to step through. It’s about what’s seeing is available to you. Since then I have met the Queen and David Beckham and I am friends with members of the Saints squad.

“You have to embrace opportunities and move forward .”

Speaking of the Snowdon climb, he said: “It was a good day but difficult in patches. It was hard walking up Llanberis path which is quite a steep incline. It took about six hours to get to the top.”