A group of injured servicemen including one from Malmesbury has arrived in Nepal ahead of an expedition to climb to the top of the world's highest mountain.

Captain Francis Atkinson, 31, will attempt to reach the summit of Mount Everest in May for the Walking With The Wounded charity, along with four other current and former soldiers, who suffered gun-shot wounds, horrific burns and amputated limbs.

Capt Atkinson suffered a gunshot wound to his right upper arm while serving as a doctor in Afghanistan. It caused significant nerve damage, and as a result his right hand does not function properly.

The group will spend the next three days in Kathmandu making last-minute preparations and gathering their kit before setting off on a 10-day trek to Everest Base Camp at 5,267m (17,280 ft). From there, they will make an assault on the summit, which is 8,848m (29,028 ft) above sea level.

Charity patron Prince Harry, who last year joined a Walking With The Wounded expedition for the first four days of a successful trip to the North Pole, paid a surprise visit to the men as they left the UK. He chatted to the team and wished them luck over the coming months.

He said: "The expedition to The Himalayas - of which I am so proud to be patron - is raising money to train and educate those with physical and cognitive injuries suffered in war to manage their transition into civilian employment."

Expedition manager and North Pole veteran Martin Hewitt, 31, was shot twice through his right shoulder in Afghanistan in 2007, which paralysed his arm. The former Captain in the Parachute Regiment, from Widnes in Cheshire, said: "We are very fortunate to have Prince Harry as our patron.

"He continually spends time with us to raise the profile of the charity.

And on a personal level, he's a good friend."

Mr Hewitt was last in Nepal in September and October last year, when the team scaled Manaslu, which at 8,156m, (26,758 ft) is the world's eighth highest mountain.

The rest of the team is made up of Captain David Wiseman, Private Jaco van Gass and former Private Karl Hinett.