TWO brothers are taking on the challenge of a lifetime to climb Japan's Mount Fuji.

Ben, 26, from Wigginton, and George Churchill, 19, from Haxby,  plan to climb the country's tallest mountain in January in aid of close relatives coping with illness.

Their mum Stacey Benson, 45, has multiple sclerosis, and Ben's mother-in-law to be Janine Harris, 48, has been diagnosed with the progressive condition motor neurone disease, so the brothers are aiming to raise money in their names.

Ben said their choice of challenge had started as a joke between them. He said: "My brother asked me if I wanted to do something different and said he knew of a mountain in China... I had to tell him it was actually in Japan.

"We discussed it and started researching it and we thought if we were going to do something extraordinary together why don't we do something for charities we care about."

Standing at 3,776m, Mount Fuji is about about 100 kilometres south-west of Tokyo.

The two day climb will see the Ben and George take on very difficult weather conditions with temperatures of around -30 degrees celcius, Ben said.

He said: "The height won't be the difficult thing, it will be the weather at the time, it's quite severe in January."

While they have paid for the trip themselves, it is hoped any additional sponsorship will help Janine if she needs equipment to support her when the disease progresses and also for a charity that may help their mother in the future.

Both of the women are inspirational in their outlook on life and their determination, Ben, an ambulance clinician, said.

- If you would like to sponsor Ben and George, add Janine Twopeas on Facebook.