A GROUP of friends is hoping to raise £16,000 for Forces charity Help for Heroes by climbing the highest mountain in Africa.

The Climb4Heroes team is hoping local businesses can sponsor the effort with support and equipment.

And the quartet are planning a series of fundraising events to help them pull together the cash for the popular charity, which works to support British soldiers wounded in the service of their country.

Josh Butcher, 24, Jonathan Lilley, Tom Davies, and James Reddin, 27, will make their attempt at the mountain next year.

James, of Fletcher Close, Scunthorpe, served seven years in the Royal Marines and he is now a fire fighter in Scunthorpe.

He said: It's a way of keeping in touch with the forces and doing my bit to help."

Josh, of Kirton-in-Lindsey, served in 2 Royal Anglian and was deployed to Iraq during his military career. He said the mountain gave him the chance to make a real difference.

He said: "It's terrifying and exciting at the same time. Since I left the Army a couple of years ago I have been wanting to do something."

Climb4Heroes have set up a fundraising page at JustGiving.com/climb4heroes and a Facebook group to keep people updated on their plans - search Climb4Heroes on the social networking site to find the page.

For the full story, buy today's Scunthorpe Telegraph.