Seven men, three peaks, 24 hours.

That’s the challenge a group of friends from Teynham are embarking on as they try to summit the tallest mountains in the UK over the course of 24 hours today.

The group all went to Borden Grammar School more than 25 years ago, with some being childhood friends. Now in their late 30s, the gang is coming back together for this fundraiser in honour of their friend and fellow climber, Phil Rixson.

He has struggled with his hearing for most of his life and was diagnosed with Usher Syndrome three years ago, a condition which causes hearing loss and eyesight degeneration.

They are fundraising for Sense, a disability charity supporting people who are deafblind or have sensory impairments.

Phil Crowley, who met Mr Rixson and another of the group, James Willmott, when they were toddlers at playgroup in Teynham, explained how training had been going: “We’ve been training since before Christmas and have been up to the Peak District to see how we get on and everyone has been going running.

“We’ve had a few injuries along the way but I think we’re all where we need to be now.”

Starting with the tallest mountain in the UK, Ben Nevis, the friends traveled up yesterday and set off for the summit at 5pm today, working their way south to tackle Scafell Pike and Mount Snowdon, hopefully completing the challenge by 5pm tomorrow.

Thanks to fellow Borden Grammar alumni and friends and family, the pals have already smashed their fundraising target but are hoping to raise even more.

Mr Crowley said: “We’ve had donations from people we haven’t heard from in years, which has been great. We’ve raised almost £2,500 currently, and we hope to get over the £3,000 mark, that would be amazing.”

To donate, go to tinyurl.com/7men3peaks