Engine Failure Halts Charity Challenge

A FUNDRAISING team ready to scale the three highest mountains in the UK were grounded when their minibus broke down taking them to Ben Nevis.

The Cooper & Hall colleagues spluttered to a halt on the A66 heading north to Fort William with smoke pouring from the engine.

They waited three hours on the roadside for an AA engineer to tell them the trip was off.

It is the second time the group have had to abandon the National Three Peaks Challenge, including Scafell Pike and Snowdon. In 2020 the pandemic forced a postponement.

Organiser Bradley Everitt said: “We’d been driving for 20 minutes when the engine failure light came on. We gave the hire company a call and they said carry on. But after an hour the bus just conked out!

“It’s really disappointing. We had trained, bought food, we were all ready to go.”

Bradley and workmates Lyes Berkache, Mat Evans, Sam Whitehouse and Richard Wilcock have rescheduled for 3-4 June 2023. Tom Hornsey will again drive the team.

Bradley added: “We are hoping it’ll be third time lucky.”

The group aim to raise £5,000 for C&H’s adopted charity Saint Michael’s Hospice in Harrogate. To support visit

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/cooperandhall3peaks