A GROUP of friends have raised more than £1,700 for charity by climbing the three highest peaks in the UK.

David Hendry, John Ross and Andrew McMaster, alongside John McCann and Neil McVitie, took on the Three Peaks Challenge - climbing Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Mount Snowdon in under 24 hours.

Raising £1,770 through their ‘3 Amigos, 3 Peaks’ GoFundMe page, £850 of the funds each will go to Ardgowan Hospice and the intensive care unit (ICU) at the Royal Alexandra Hospital (RAH) in Paisley.

The friends were inspired to take on the challenge in September last year and to raise money to give back to organisations which have helped family members during end-of-life care.

David Hendry, Andrew McMaster and John Ross scaled Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Mount Snowdon in less than 24 hours.David Hendry, Andrew McMaster and John Ross scaled Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Mount Snowdon in less than 24 hours. (Image: Contributed) David has donated money to Ardgowan Hospice after his mum, Susan Hendry, received palliative care from the hospice.

He said: “The care that the staff at the Hospice gave my mum was second to none and at that time we couldn't care for her anymore in the house so she had to go into the hospice.

“The care they give to patients and families is priceless. You can't really buy that.

“To take on that carer role on your own for family members is quite a strain, albeit you want to do that for them but it's very hard.

“When you see the work that the hospice does first hand, it's unbelievable.”

John has donated to the teams at the RAH ICU who cared for his son, Joseph McGowan, after the 29-year-old from Port Glasgow suffered a cardiac arrest and passed away in 2022.

The Tele reported later that year on how Joseph’s family had donated more than £4,500 to the Paisley hospital in recognition of the care the dad-of-two and the family received both before and after medics concluded that Joseph would not survive.

READ MORE: Family of Port dad who died at just 29 donate over £4,500 to hospital

Completing the ‘tough but rewarding’ challenge in exactly 23 hours and 12 minutes, David said: “It was a good challenge for a worthy cause, it was good to challenge ourselves and do something a bit different than just a sponsored walk.”

The group thanked everyone who donated to the GoFundMe page and the previous fundraising events they have held.

They also thanked Jim Darrah, family, friends and workers at Ferguson Marine for all of their support.