THE recent heatwave did not stop members of Chard Rugby Club taking on a gruelling climbing challenge, raising money for the club in the process.

Chard RFC entered a mix of members from across the teams in the club into the ‘Fire Service 3 Peaks Challenge’ to raise funds for both the rugby club and the Firefighters Charity.

In what were some of the hottest temperatures on record, club members from across ages spanning three decades took on the gruelling challenge of climbing Ben Nevis in Scotland (1,345 metres in height).

If that wasn’t enough in itself, they then drove to the English Lake District to climb Scafell Pike (978 metres), before heading to North Wales to scale Mount Snowdon (1,085 metres).

They finished with a silver medal, after completing the challenge in an excellent time of 21 hours and 45 minutes.

The team was made up of Ben Robinson, Gavin Smilie, Martin Carnell, Bill Biss, Matt Tinley, Jason Wright and Tom Hopkins, while Andy Trebble and Keith Milton drove between mountains – a feat of endurance in itself.

They raised more than £2,000, which will be divided between Chard RFC and the Firefighters Charity.