WORKMATES Geoff Harmer and Andy Morrill have a head for heights - and they'll certainly need it as they embark on a fundraising trek.

Geoff Harmer, 34, and Andy Morrill, 46, who work at Barclays Asset Finance, in Churchill Way, Basingstoke, are embarking on a 12-day journey across Nepal on November 22, to try to reach Annapurna Base Camp, which is 14,000ft above sea level.

The dynamic duo are aiming to raise funds for Basingstoke hospital's coronary care unit.

For Mr Harmer, of Grove Road, Black Dam, Basingstoke, the trip is another leg on a personal journey that was inspired by his own health crisis.

He trekked through the Himalayas in 2004, raising £1,700 for The British Heart Foundation after surviving a heart attack himself in 2000, at the age of 27.

He said: "My experience inspired me to raise money for The British Heart Foundation, and now I want to do something for the local coronary care unit, whose staff looked after me so well when I was ill."

The friends have already raised more than £4,400, which was helped by a donation of £1,500 from Barclays in its "pound-for-pound" matching scheme.

Mr Harmer said: "We initially did not expect to get anywhere near this much. We funded the trip ourselves, so every penny we raise goes straight to the unit. It's been great to tell staff at the unit that we've doubled what we expected to make."

In preparation for the physically demanding trip, they have been climbing up and down 14 flights of stairs at the Churchill Plaza building, twice a day.

During their trip, the colleagues will visit Mr Harmer's cousin, who teaches English in Kathmandu, to take supplies to a school destroyed by a landslide.

Anyone who would like to sponsor the colleagues can e-mail geoff.harmer@barclays.com or send a cheque made payable to The North Hampshire Medical Fund to Geoff Harmer, c/o Barclays Asset and Sales Finance, Churchill Plaza, Churchill Way, Basingstoke, RG21 7GP.