THREE staff members at a Ledbury care home decided that climbing Ben Nevis by day was too easy, even for charity, and so they tackled the mountain by night.

Joan Arrowsmith, Jayne Fountain and Jackie Cale, who are part of the team at Shaw Healthcare’s Ledbury Intermediate Care Unit (ICU), off Market Street, joined almost 200 other fundraisers to climb the UK’s highest mountain in the dark.

And their sponsored ordeal raised nearly £2,500 for the Alzheimer’s Society.

The 4,409-foot trek took more than nine hours of continuous walking, setting off at 10pm and arriving back at base at 7:30am for a well-earned breakfast.

The trek was made even tougher by adverse weather conditions, with the team finding snow when they reached the summit at 2:30am.

Mrs Arrowsmith, unit manager at Ledbury ICU, said: “All three of us have professional and personal experience of caring for someone with dementia, and know the devastating effect this disease can have on an individual and their families. We are all long-standing supporters of the Alzheimer’s Society.

“We managed to get together for a few training walks in the Malvern Hills, but the climb was even tougher than we expected. The low cloud, mist and ice at the summit meant we weren’t able to stay at the top for very long, but it was a fantastic experience to be on top of a mountain at night time, and to see Glen Nevis come alive on the descent as the sun started to come up."

This is not the first time the trio have taken on a fundraising challenge for the Alzheimer’s Society. They raised nearly £10,000 in October 2011 when they walked the Great Wall of China.

Now the fund-raising trio are looking forward to their next big challenge for charity

To make a donation for their Ben Nevis success, visit www.justgiving.com and search for their three names.