There could be no better incentive to take on the gruelling mountain of Snowdon than for a good cause and this is exactly what three Cheshire men have done of late.

In a compassionate move, Darren Halligan, Mark Hay and Michael Robinson took to the daunting slopes to raise money for a cause that was very close to their hearts.

A close friend to the trio had recently passed away after a long battle with mental illness and so the group decided to raise money in his honour. The lucky recipients were Mid-Cheshire Mind: a superb organisation that assist those in need with mental health issues in Cheshire.

The total raised by the plucky hikers was an impressive £1000 which will go a long way to providing help to raising awareness and standards for patients at the branch.

One of the friends, Michael Robinson (who has previously raised money for various charities) said: “You never know when you might need to access something like this or when it might affect you,

“It sounds horrible but if you don’t do charity work you don’t know what happens and unfortunately it takes a friend or family member in life to point you in that direction.

“The money helps with the food, teas, coffees, electricity and heating bills and building work and if they don’t have this money then where do these people that are accessing it go?”

The ascent was not without its fair share of drama however as Mr. Robinson explained: “When I say we climbed, we were literally climbing, it was don’t look around or down.

“On the way down I slipped and twisted my knee, I was on support sticks but Darren’s ex-army so I had this sergeant major screaming at me to keep going!”

Snowdon is one the main hiking hotspots in all of Wales and there are bound to be great causes like these three campaigned in for 2014 too.