TO celebrate his 50th birthday, Alan Finnigan set himself 50 challenges to complete by the start of 2018.

They ranged from conquering his fear of snakes to finishing feats of athletic endurance like Tough Mudder.

The scout leader from Moredon began the first challenge at the stroke of midnight on January 1 2017 and finished the final challenge on the day before New Year’s Eve.

Alan said: “It was touch and go at the end but I just about managed it.

“Learning to juggle was the last thing I did - I think I annoyed my wife Fiona by spending the day in the living room practicing for hours until I got the hang of it.

“It was an interesting year, it's been a great journey and I'm glad I did it.

“During a trip to America, I did a helicopter tour of the Grand Canyon and visited a casino in Las Vegas, those were definitely highlights.

"I also finished the Swindon Half Marathon in fancy dress as a cowboy on a horse, but the horse deflated half a mile in so I had to carry it around for the rest of the run!"

To celebrate his accomplishments, Alan decided to base the fancy dress theme of his New Year’s Eve party last month around his to-do list.

He dressed up as the Thunderbird figure which he’d nicknamed 'Little Alan' and carried with him to 50 different places throughout the year - one of the quirkier challenges he'd set for himself.

Alan first got the idea to take on a half-century of tasks when he signed up for a 104km walk from Staines to Oxford to raise money for the British Heart Foundation, then received several suggestions for other feats of fitness he could do.

He's buried a time capsule chock-full of mementos from his busy year in his back garden.

His scouts group 19th Swindon have helped him tick off several challenges, including a long overnight walk which raised £400 for the group.

Alan added: “My family and friends have been so supportive, I couldn't have asked for more from them, and there are so many things I've done that I've always wanted to do.

"It would be nice to do some of them again now that I don't have to race against the clock.

"You only live once so you might as well push yourself to do something difficult that gets you out of your comfort zone."