THREE Tavistock men will be raising money for charity later this year, by trekking and climbing in Africa.

Father and son Rob and Dan Wheeler and friend Richard Bridle are those fulfilling the challenge in aid of the charity Help for Heroes.

Rob and Richard will be climbing Mount Kilimanjaro from December 4 to 13, while Dan is trekking 100km across the Sahara Desert from November 14 to 23.

It was originally planned for the father and son team to trek to Kilimanjaro, but arrangements were then altered.

Dan said: 'Due to the dates of the Kilimanjaro trek being changed I was no longer able to go, as I am deploying to Afghanistan around the time of the new dates. So my best mate Rich has booked on to the Kilimanjaro trek to join my Dad.

'Unfortunately, Help for Heroes were unable to move me onto an earlier trek so I have opted to change my adventure to a 100km trek across the Sahara desert, again with Help for Heroes.'

Dan did not under-estimate the difficulty of the task ahead.

'I must be mad', he said.

All three said they needed to raise £3,000 each to enable them to go on the trip and give money to the military charity.

Richard has so far raised the most money, at £1,410.32.

He said: 'As an ex- serviceman myself I appreciate the assistance that Help for Heroes provide and would therefore love it if I can aid this worthy cause.

'The money you give will go a long way to helping improve the lives of servicemen and women who have been injured while putting their lives at risk fighting for their country.'

Rob has pleaded 'help me reach the top' on his interneet fundraising page, which includes along supporting comments by those who have made donations.

Rob, Dan and Richard will be holding a number of fundraising events in Tavistock to reach their £3,000 target.

To sponsor their African expeditions, visit their fundraising pages: