'Tent boy' to finally sleep in his bed after three years and raising £700k

A 13-year-old boy who challenged himself to sleep outside in a tent for the last three years is finally returning to his own bed after raising over £700,000 for charity.

Max Woosey, also known as 'The Boy in the Tent', started sleeping in his garden way back in March 2020 when he was ten-years-old.

It was family friend and neighbour Rick Abbott who had inspired him to go on the years-long camp-out after he gifted Max his first tent.

Before he died of cancer aged 74, Rick encouraged Max to take the tent and 'go and have an adventure' with it - so that's exactly what Max did.

Pitching the tent in his back garden, Max decided to put his adventure toward a good cause.

Instagram/@the_boy_in_the_tent

Of course, as Max got bigger over the years, so did his tent, but his goal remained the same - to raise money for the North Devon Hospice.

By sleeping outside for over 1,000 days, Max has raised over £700,000 the organisation.

Chief Executive of North Devon Hospice Stephen Roberts confirmed that Max's camp-out challenge 'has directly funded 15 nurses for a whole year.'

He noted: "In that time, those nurses will have supported in excess of 500 patients who were facing the impact of a life-limiting illness like cancer.”

During his three-year challenge, Max has been awarded all sorts of honours, from a British Empire Medal to the Bear Grylls Chief Scout Unsung Hero award, to a Pride of Britain award.

PA Images / Alamy Stock Photo

To mark the end of his three-year challenge, Max is going to host one final celebratory camp-out on April 1.

And it's set to be a huge occasion.

There'll be three music stages, a 'never-before-seen' movie memorabilia exhibition, a party bus, an axe-throwing range, fireworks, and a special guest appearance from Welsh actor Ian Whyte.

Commenting on the upcoming camp-out festival, Max raved: "It was amazing that so many people got in touch from all over the UK wanting to mark my three-year anniversary of camping out, but I wanted to stay close to home and celebrate with friends and family nearby.

Instagram/@the_boy_in_the_tent

"We are going to camp out on the grounds amongst the sculptures and have a big party."

Mr Roberts added: "This is a perfect way for Max to finish his fundraising challenge, which has been such an adventure and something he can look back on with so much pride."

Tickets to take part in the day-long festival are now on sale, with all proceeds from the day to be donated to the hospice.