Polar explorer Dwayne Fields celebrated the Queen's Diamond Jubilee from the top of the UK's highest mountain

A young polar explorer from Stoke Newington celebrated the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee on top of Britain’s highest mountain. Next stop: the South Pole.

Dwayne Fields, 29, from Albion Road, scaled Ben Nevis, in Lochaber, Scotland, on Sunday June 3 to mark the monarch’s momentous occasion.

He said: “I wanted to do something that was UK based but as big as possible. I was also having a bit of fun and marking it in my own way.

“You really have to give it to her; 60 years doing anything in an achievement.

“I felt that this is me saying well done. I wanted to say ‘I appreciate you and everything that you stand for’. It felt really good.”

The second black polar explorer ever to reach the North Pole in 2010, Mr Fields met the Queen at Buckingham Palace in December 2011 to mark the 100th anniversary of Captain Scott’s expedition to the South Pole.

“She’s an amazing woman,” said Mr Fields who said the Queen told him it won’t get any easier.

In November he plans to follow in Captain Scott’s footsteps and trek 1150km to the geographic South Pole.

He said it will be the “biggest challenge so far” as he faces temperatures of around -40C, winds of up to 80mph and the threat of blinding snowstorms.

“I look forward to it,” he said. “It’s one of those things when you live in the city you appreciate so much having the space to think and reflect.

“My motivation is that I want to do better for myself and for others to see what I do and be inspired.

“I want people to challenge themselves to push their own personal boundaries.”

He is trying to raise £60,000 to fund the expedition. Follow his story at http://dwayne-fields.com/.