RUNNERS from an athletics club climbed each of the highest mountains in England, Scotland and Wales in 24 hours to raise money for a hospice.

Five members of Swanley and District Athletics Club completed the infamous Three Peaks Challenge, climbing Scotland’s Ben Nevis, England’s Scafell Pike and Wales’ Snowdon.

They took on the gruelling task to help Northfleet-based EllenorLions Hospice, which cares for teminally ill people across north Kent, and have so far raised £995 through sponsorship.

Malcolm Parsons, who was part of the five-man team, said: “It was a challenge in more way than one, as we climbed the mountains back-to-back, so sleep deprivation was a factor.

“But it was worth it to raise money for EllenorLions, as it’s a charity which helps so many people across north Kent - we all know somebody who has been helped by the hospice.”

The 44-year-old added: “After doing the challenge together, the guys have now become real life-long friends and I expect we will now do it every year.

“We have been telling everyone at the club what a great experience it was, and I suspect there will be even more people taking part in the challenge next year.”

To support the runners by donating to the hospice, go to justgiving.com/swanleyac3peakschallenge, or the hospice’s website, ellenorfoundation.org For more information on the athletics club, which is based in New Barn Road, go to swanleyanddistrictac.org - At 1,344m above sea level, Ben Nevis is the highest mountain in the UK. It is at the western end of the Grampian Mountains in the Lochaber area of the Scottish Highlands.

The summit features the ruins of an observatory, which was permanently staffed between 1883 and 1904.

- Scafell Pike is the highest fell in England, standing at 978m above sea level, and is located in the Lake District National Park in Cumbria.

The summit was donated to the National Trust in 1919 by Lord Leconfield in memory of the men of the Lake District who died during the First World War.

- Snowdon is probably the busiest mountain in Britain. It stretches up 1,085m above sea level and is situated in Snowdonia National Park in Gwynedd.

The first recorded climb of the mountain was in 1798, when botanists and reverends Peter Williams and W. Bingley scaled it looking for alpine plants.