Three walkers will be climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in aid of a local mental health charity next month.

Juan Moore, Jack Evans and Sam Moran will be taking on the task of ascending the highest mountain in Africa on October 10 and expect it to take about eight days.

They are looking to raise £5,895, based on the height of the mountain in metres, for Isle Listen and have already reached more than £3,750 through Juan’s Just Giving page, Kili2022.

Mr Moore said: ‘As three young lads, it seemed a great opportunity to highlight that good mental health is important to everyone.

‘We’ve always found walking and physical activity has been helpful to us as individuals and I often compare mental health with a mountain climb: there are lots of ups and downs.’

The trio have all taken on mountains around the UK before but this will be the highest they’ve climbed so far.

Mr Moore added: ‘On Kilimanjaro we will be climbing at a much higher altitude than any of us have been before. The surroundings here don’t offer much opportunity for altitude training, so we are doing lots of cardio work at the gym, hiking and running to ensure we reach our final goal.’

All are current or former employees of Manx Telecom, and the company has installed a StairMaster machine in its Douglas store to challenge customers and employees and raise awareness of the climb.

Alongside Upmost, Mr Moran’s current employer, MT has pledged £1,000 to each climber upon reaching the summit