On Saturday 26^th June, 28 members of staff from Durham County Council  & Sedgefield Borough Homes will be joining together to hike around Yorkshire's Three Highest Peaks covering a height of over 2000m a distance of 25 miles within 12 hours in aid of The 3 Rifles and Help for Heroes.  If you wish to donate to 3 Rifles only email me as unable to set this up via justgiving

This coincides with Armed Forces day when it’s an opportunity for the nation to show our support for the men and women who make up the Armed Forces community.

Its a 25 mile circular challenge walk, the Three Peaks of Yorkshire normally starts and finishes at Horton

in-Ribblesdale, visiting the three highest peaks in Yorkshire - Pen-y-ghent (691m), Whernside (728m), and Ingleborough (723m) - in that order. Hoping we all do this fantastic challenge within 12 hours.

Event Organiser and Sedgefield Borough Homes Customer Service Manager Lee Dunn along with Durham County Council’s  Envirocrime Co-ordinator Andy Denholm both former servicemen along with other, family members, colleagues and friends are getting together to climb up Ingleborough, Whernside and Pen-y-ghent.  Lee said that “This is not just about money; our key mission is to raise awareness of our troops who are doing a fantastic job in very difficult and dangerous circumstances”, 3 Rifles  are the local County Durham Regiment and have just returned from Afghanistan having lost 30 Riflemen with many more injured.  The money raised will go a small way towards helping the families and injured.  “Everyone who is participating in this event has some sort of connection to the services, when these guys get injured someone has to be there for them to provide that support.  "There is a gap in the system. Help for Heroes and the support it gives to servicemen and women should not be funded by the public, it should be funded by the Government.  However without the public's support the servicemen and women would be left with very little."  The event will be hard work and no doubt a few blisters with plenty of sweat and tears will make sure that the hard work done by those participating will be a worthwhile reward.

Regards and thanks for your support and donations.

Andy Denholm

Anyone wishing to sponsor the event or would like to donate to Help for Heroes or 3 Rifles can do so by contacting either Lee or Andy at ftmleedunn@yahoo.co.uk  or andydenholm@googlemail.com