Keen hikers are preparing to attack the summit of Holcombe Hill this winter as part of a challenging new fundraiser.

Sammy Young of the Sunnywood Project helped to organise The Everest Fundraising Challenge, which will see hikers reach the top of Holcombe as many times as possible in 12 hours, to climb the equivalent of Mount Everest.

She started the fundraiser to raise enough money to open up a new youth programme for the Sunnywood Project, as the last one proved so popular that they found themselves overwhelmed by new recruits.

The Sunnywood Project hopes to raise £10,000 in total, which the local action group, the National Emergencies Trust have pledged to match.

Sammy said: "I'm really excited that so many people are taking part in this, and it's going to be as inclusive as possible, and we want families and friends to make the journey.

"You don't have to do the equivalent of Everest, every little bit counts - you could just scale the equivalent of Snowdon and that would be absolutely amazing.

"Here at the Sunnywood Project we love the outdoors and we know how it can improve mental and physical wellbeing and we want to promote that through as many outdoor activities as we possibly can."

To successfully climb the equivalent of Everest, a group of four would have to climb Holcombe 23 and a group of six would have to make the journey 15 times.

Entry to the challenge is free and an Everest Challenge T-shirt is available to every person that helps raise a minimum of £50.

To join the challenge visit https://www.thesunnywoodproject.co.uk/event-details/everest-fundraising-challenge?fbclid=IwAR0TCFJ_wJnuZFKqlZTEugEtrCVjlkKOYzWWLkHTQGri1R6NjCEnlKRtiQg.