A HARDY bunch of hikers climbed three mountains in the space of 12 hours and raised thousands of pounds to keep a debt advice service open.

The team of 21 walkers from Highworth took on the tough 24.5-miles Three Peaks Challenge in Yorkshire for the town’s Christians Against Poverty centre.

The centre offers support and guidance to people struggling to manage and reduce their debt.

Manager Kathryn Ford said: “We had lots of volunteers from the town, including the vicar of St Michael’s Church.

“Climbing up such steep terrain was really challenging. It was a bit daunting to get to the top of one mountain then see the next two we had to climb in the distance.”

“It was a lovely day,” she said. “Rain would have been really disheartening but the sun was out and the views from the top were amazing.

“Everyone’s got a few aches, pains and blisters now, a few stiff legs, but nothing too serious.

“The fastest people finished was in 10-and-a-half hours.

“Almost everyone else finished in 12 hours, though a few people realised how difficult it was and couldn’t make it to the end.”

Christians Against Poverty is a debt-counselling charity with branches in Highworth, Swindon, and across the country.

Kathryn added: “It’s a life-transforming service. We’ve seen 100 families since the centre opened four years ago, and we have 30 active clients at the moment.

“Some people come to us and they’re suicidal because of their debt problems, then we give them hope for the future.”

She added: “Thinking about the people we support kept us going when we were struggling over Whernside, Ingleborough and Pen-y-ghent.”

The charity relies entirely on donations to keep going, so community fundraising efforts like the Three Peaks Challenge are a big help.

Kathryn added: “As a charity, we offer our services for free but it costs a lot of money to keep this going.

“We try to raise as much money as we can in order to keep helping people.

“Earlier this year, we were trying to think of something big to do that could involve a lot of people, something that would be a real challenge that we could face together.

“That’s why we decided to tackle these mountains.

“We’re still totting up the total that we raised, it’s around £8,000.

“Hopefully, we’ll hit our £10,000 target, that would keep the centre open for another six months.

“The money we’ve raised will make a massive difference.”

To donate, visit give.net/3peaks2018