A TEAM of hikers from a Hampshire homebuilder have raised nearly £9,000 for a charity dedicated to the prevention of suicide among young people and the promotion of positive mental health.

A dozen members of staff from Vistry Southern, which has its regional head office in Basingstoke, took part in the Three Peaks Challenge to raise money for Papyrus, which is Vistry’s nominated group charity for 2022.

Papyrus works to prevent suicide by giving young people and their communities the skills to recognise emotional distress and respond to it. It aims to promote positive mental health and emotional wellbeing, and carries out education and training as well as giving information and advice.

The Three Peaks is a challenge where people climb the highest peaks in England, Scotland and Wales consecutively within 24 hours. All 12 Vistry employees managed to complete all three within the timeframe. First on the list was Ben Nevis, before the team headed to Scafell Pike, and finally Snowdon.

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Among the hikers was managing director Dawnet Mclaughlin. She joked that if she had taken a closer look at Ben Nevis on Google, she might not have turned up at all, let alone embarked on all three peaks.

Despite the physical challenge, she said the experience was ‘brilliant’ and something that she would certainly do again - though she admitted she would do more training next time.

“I am so proud of the whole team and myself,” she said. “They were immense! There were times I was getting dragged up by my rucksack, so thank you to my colleague Wes Shipp. At times I just followed the persons footsteps in front of me to weave up and down the mountains.”

Comically, the thing that got the team through it all was laughter. “Laughter can get you through so much,” Dawnet said. “I almost felt like it might be possible to pass out from laughing too much.

“The team were so inspirational and motivational throughout. We really kept each other going. Sometimes the right words at the right moment were enough to spur us on when it got especially difficult.

“We had a lot of backing from family, friends and colleagues who supported us and helped share our JustGiving page.

“And we didn’t forget the real reason we were doing this challenge. We were inspired by the absolutely vital work of Papyrus, our chosen charity this year. Every step of the way was worthwhile to help them in their important mission to reduce the number of young people who take their own lives.”

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The team's efforts have so far raised £8,825 for Papyrus, but they hope to hit its target of £10,000.

Dawnet said: “We are still keen for more donations to help us reach our target so anyone who would like to add to the fund can do so on our JustGiving page.”