Colne hikers raise £2,500 with mammoth 36-hour charity trek

Battling extreme fatigue and covering over 1,000 miles in the car in between climbs in the name of fundraising, Scott Ruddy, John Whitaker, and Danny Steer scaled a combined 5,560m - the equivalent of climbing the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building, on top of Mont Blanc - to raise invaluable funds for Pendleside Hospice and The Friends of Favourdale, who raise money for the residents of Favordale Care Home on Byron Road in the town.

Unimpressed by the prospect of tackling just the Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge, the trio had decided to make their next fundraiser a "big one," and did not disappoint. After trekking up Ben Nevis, the crew raced down to the Lake District where they hiked up Scafell Pike, before they crossed the border into Wales, clambering up Snowdon in the dark with the help of friend Alex Cocker.

As if that wasn't enough, the trio sped back north, where they were joined by Shaun Ruddy and Alan Gray to haul themselves up Ingleborough, Pen-y-Ghent, and Whernside and complete their mammoth challenge in just over 36 hours, raising £2,518 in the process.

"Massive thank you to all our families and friends who helped and supported us through this incredible journey and of course all the people who kindly donated," said John. "Many thanks to Reid Nutter, who provided the transport and drove us around the countries, and to Alex Cocker who joined us in Wales and helped us navigate Snowdon during the night."

Throughout the challenge, the climbers were spurred on to give back to charities close to their hearts, with John's father, John Snr, due to receive treatment at Pendleside prior to his death last year, while Scott, Shaun, and Danny's mother, Diane Grey, was to start working at Friends of Favourdale before she too died in 2017.

"The hospice is the hospice and Friends of Favourdale do a lot for the residents," said Scott before the challenge. "It feels like [we've done] it for everyone else now, too."