THIS team of 15 trainee fire fighters are set to undertake a gruelling mission.

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service's newest recruits have set themselves a massive challenge at the end of this month (June).

They will be completing a 14 hour ladder climb to scale the equivalent height of Mount Everest, not once, but twice, all in the name of charity.

They will be climbing and descending a total of 17,696 metres on ladders from dawn till dusk at the service training centre in Easingwold on Sunday, June 27.

Training Centre Station Manager Steve Harris said: "The trainees are approaching the end of their 13 weeks intensive training course to equip them with the fundamental skills required to be an operational firefighter.

"They have pushed themselves both physically and mentally and we are very proud that they have chosen to use the skills learned to raise money for a very worthwhile cause - The Fire Fighters Charity.

"The charity needs our support more then ever with the coronavirus pandemic bringing a lot of the traditional fundraising efforts to a halt.

"Every year, thousands of fire fighters are injured whilst protecting the public. Every 30 seconds in the UK, fire fighters are called to an incident, putting their lives on the line, and often sustaining physical injuries whilst carrying out their duties. The Fire Fighters Charity is there for fire fighters during their times of need, and assists thousands of individuals every year, by providing pioneering treatment and support services. Please donate anything you can."

The charity offers a range of support including advice and signposting or residential rehabilitation, mental and emotional wellbeing and recuperation programmes. Over the years they have helped hundreds of thousands of individuals by providing world-class treatment and support services.

It costs over £9 million every year to keep the charity running, and with no government funding, they are completely reliant upon donations from the general public and fire community to support over 55,000 members of the UK’s fire and rescue services and their dependants, as well as the retired fire services community.

The 15 recruits are on the first course for full-time fire fighters North Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service has run in-house since 2010.

The recruits are pushing themselves daily, physically, and mentally in preparation for starting to serve the community of North Yorkshire and York.

Click here to support the team.