Duo's amazing 24 hour Pendle hill challenge raises £6,000 for Burnley based mental health charity

And they clocked up an amazing 170,000 steps between them, covering 82 miles and ascending thousands of feet.

They also trebled their £2,000 fundraising target by raising the grand total of £6,000 for Burnley based charity PH7 which specialises in mental health support.

Scott, who is 45 and lives in the Brunshaw area of Burnley, said: "It was a tough but fantastic experience and the support we received from family, friends and even a passerby who donated cash, was just amazing.

"It really kept us going and I can't thank them enough for what they did."

Starting out last Friday morning Scott completed 30 laps and John did 23. A 24-hour 'base camp' was set up by friends – Dave Burnett, Helen Burnett and Karl Hargreaves – to provide food and drink to the pair.

Several friends and relatives joined them to keep their spirits up during the 24-hour period and seasoned runner and engineering recruitment specialist for M65 Jobsearch Garry Wilkinson completed 20 laps with them for moral support.

Penny Black Bar also supplied the intrepid hikers with meal preps throughout the day.

Scott came up with the idea for the challenge when the pandemic put paid to his plans to climb Imja Tse, next to Everest Base Camp this year.

He wanted to replace one challenge with another, and after completing 25 laps of Pendle in 25 days earlier this year, he decided to come up with an even tougher challenge.

Burnley Express news editor John got involved when he made a throwaway comment that he would join Scott when the pair were on a lads' holiday in Ibiza earlier this year. Scott held him to his promise and the duo spent weeks doing 'dummy runs' of Pendle.

John said: "I knew it was going to be difficult, but I had no idea it was going to be that difficult. I used to love going up Pendle Hill. I don't even want to look at it at the minute.

"The support we had on the day and throughout the night was out of this world. I can't thank enough all the people who came out to cheer us on, or all those who have kindly donated to such a worthy cause. We've been blown away."

Scott was keen to raise awareness of the charity that runs free four-week courses, targeting depression and anxiety, which are only made possible through private fundraising.

As he has suffered with mental health issues himself he knows how vital the work of organisations like PH7 are, and now more than ever since the start of the pandemic.

Scott added: "It doesn't receive the same publicity as a lot of the bigger charities so I wanted to do something to change that."

The total was also boosted by sponsorship from some of the companies Scott works for including AMS Neve, The Landmark, Ivy House and KPL Metals. Burnley marketing firm +24 also made a generous donation.

Scott is already planning his 2021 Pendle challenge but next year he hopes that more people will get on board to raise money for charities they support.

He said: "It will be over a 48 hour period and people can choose how many laps they want to do."

Donations are still being accepted and can be made HERE