A FATHER and son duo are tackling a national peak climbing challenge this weekend - just one of their many fundraisers for Barnsley Hospice.

Gavin Coles and his 16-year-old son Mason, from Athersley South, have been taking part in fundraisers since 2017 to raise money for the hospice, a charity close to their hearts.

Gavin said: “Mason lost his great grandmother in 2017 and the hospice were so good helping with his grandad and mum.

“We would like to give that back, and we set a target of around £2,000 to £3,000 to raise in a year when we started in May 2017.

“Since then we have raised around £65,000 which we’re really happy with.”

The pair recently completed the Yorkshire Three Peaks challenge, which involves three of Yorkshire’s best known peaks - Pen-Y-Ghent, Whernside and Ingleborough.

The pair took on the challenge on the night of May 23, in poor conditions.

Gavin added: “We thought we do something different and take on the challenge at night, and in the day the weather was fine, then at night we got some horrendous weather.

“We were on the second peak and the heavens opened up.

“It’s quite a big challenge generally, but in those conditions at night it became a bigger challenge, as It was quite slippy and there was a thick fog.”

The pair are planning to attempt a national challenge this weekend - by taking on the National Three Peaks Challenge in 24 hours.

This involves climbing Ben Nevis in Scotland, Scafell Pike in England, and Snowdon in Wales, all in a 24-hour time frame.

“We’re planning to walk up it and run back down.

“We are heading up on Friday then starting Saturday morning, with hopes of doing it in the time.

“It’s demanding, and we are hoping traffic is on our side as well.”