Eight pals from Burnley and Pendle take on challenge to tackle Yorkshire Three Peaks twice on hottest day of the year

That was the response Gareth Metcalfe and his friends, Chris Jones and Toby Campbell, were greeted with by the majority of people when they announced they planned to tackle the Yorkshire Three Peaks. .. twice in the same day!

But the hardy trio did it, starting at 4am and clocking up 48 miles and six peaks in 17 hours, 25 minutes.

And, to cap it off, they chose to complete the challenge on what turned out to be the hottest day of the year, when they battled 27 degree heat.

Gareth said: "We had to get the timing right as we knew we only had 18 hours of daylight to complete both laps.

"The challenge was hard enough in itself but, coupled with the heat, that was something else we had to deal with."

The trio were supported by five other pals of theirs, Nicola Holding, Zoe Evans, Jon Beneduce, Aaron Hilton and Jonathan Brooks, who all completed at least one circuit themselves.

And together the team, who are all from Burnley and Pendle, managed to raise £3,200 for PH7 Life Mental Health charity.

Gareth is an ambassador for the charity which was co founded by Paul Howarth who is a long standing friend of his. Gareth's role involves raising the profile of the charity, the work it does and also funds.

The monumental challenge was born after Gareth, who is business development manager for Schofield and Associates Financial Planning Ltd, completed PH7’s Massive Mental Walk last year.

He said: "Chris and I were sat together at the end of the walk and I shared with him the idea I’d had to up the ante."

The others came on board once Gareth shared the idea on social media.

Paul said: “Valiant attempts like this not only raise necessary funds to support people with access to therapy in a timely manner, but they demonstrate, through action, that pro-activity, commitment, courage and community can go a long way in breaking through personal struggles with mental health.

"The team should be immensely proud of what they have achieved”.

You can still make a donation by clicking HEREFor information on how to access support from PH7, please contact [email protected]