A group of friends climbed the highest mountains in England, Scotland and Wales in 24 hours in a British Heart Foundation fundraiser.

Phill Watson, Stuart Calow, Julian Francis and Mark Fields undertook the Three Peaks Challenge and raised just short of their £2000 target.

The event, suggested by Mark's son Oli, as he had always wanted to climb the three mountains, Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon, took place on the weekend of August 7-8.

With the backing of the team, Oli chose to raise money for the British Heart Foundation, motivated and touched by the recent experience of his friend Uzair.

The friends explained: "Uzair's Dad had a heart attack at home and was rushed to hospital. His family had to stay at home and await news, not able to go to the hospital because of Covid restrictions.

"They knew his heart had stopped and the medical team were doing everything they could to keep him alive. They did finally receive a call, and although his Dad's heart had stopped for just under an hour he was alive and with no permanent damage.

"Uzair's Dad was obviously very lucky, however many people are not as lucky and do not survive. This is why Oli has chosen the British Heart Foundation and this is why we would like you to donate and support us in our challenge."

The British Heart Foundation has helped halve the number of people dying from heart and circulatory disease in the UK but sadly every day hundreds of people lose their lives.

It's only thanks to support from fundraisers and charity events that the BHF can create new treatments and discover new cures. £24 could pay for two hours of research by an early career scientist, but every pound helps.

People can help the lads reach and exceed their target by clicking on the link here.

After the event, they posted on social media: "It was tough with sickness, injury and blisters. But the team achieved the challenge in 23 hours and 54 minutes."