Trio to climb peaks for children's sensory centre

When Ryan Hamilton, Matthew Bamber, both of Lostock Hall, and James Holland, of Fulwood, heard ex Space Centre worker Fiona Barnes stole £24,713 from the Preston charity, they decided to do some fund-raising to support its services.

The trio will be climbing the Three Peaks in October, and hope to raise more than £1,800.

Ryan, 24, a business studies teacher at Runshaw College, said: “Although we have never come into contact with the Space Centre, it has struck a chord with us. We were quite upset to think this had happened and so discussed ideas to help.

“We are in a band - Ryan and Craig - and have raised £180 from a Longton Live event and wanted to do more.

“We considered a 24-hour Xboxathon, but we realised we needed to be a bit more adventurous to raise some proper money. As we are not really outdoorsy and anyone that knows us would realise this will be a big challenge for us.

“Hopefully it will inspire other people to do something similar.

“We were not gym people but we have been hitting it hard. We have spoken to people who have done the Three Peaks before and have been getting tips. We have been doing mountain walking and have climbed Skiddaw in the Lake District, which is the biggest one. Unfortunately I got sunburnt when I did that and have been recovering since. We will continue to train ahead of the climb in October.

“We hope to raise £1,800, which is £600 each. It seems ambitious, but the charity had almost £25,000 stolen from them, which is a lot of money.”

The team is also looking for businesses to sponsor the trek, raising extra cash for the Space Centre, which provides sensory activities for children with disabilities.

To get in touch email Ryan at [email protected].

The boys will take on the gruelling challenge on October 29. To donate visit http://www.justgiving.com/ryan-hamilton3 or text GOOD71 and the amount to 70070.