The Bradford Bulls kitman has a mountain to climb - or three to be precise.

Leigh Beattie, long serving kitman for the Odsal club, has joined forces with head coach James Lowes and four others to take on the Three Peaks, in the name of charity.

Mr Beattie's team – 'Francis Spencer's Northern Ramblers' – are aiming to raise funds to support the work being done by the Bradford Children's Charity in Bradford Royal Infirmary's Children's Ward.

The six will scale Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Mount Snowdon in Wales and have set themselves a limit of 24 hours to complete their mammoth task, which will see them scale a total of more than 10,000ft.

As well as his role as kitman at the Bulls, Mr Beattie is also well-know for his coaching at West Bowling.

Shaun Phelan, one of the other participants, works as an occupational therapist within Bradford's Wheelchair Service, providing seating solutions to disabled children in the city, and this is a cause close to his heart.

“We are really looking forward to taking on this challenge and is fantastic to have the likes of Jimmy Lowes and Leigh Beattie on board,” said Mr Phelan.

“I have known Leigh for over 20 years and I used to help him out as Academy kitman, when he first got the job at the Bulls.

“We have been close friends ever since and he has been great in helping us get this together, helping to organise everything with Jimmy and what not."

Mr Phelan spoke of the motivation for their fundraising efforts.

He said: “We are trying to raise funds for the children's charity which buys equipment for the children's ward at the BRI.

“And having already run several events in order to do so, this will be the pinnacle of them.

“We have already been supported by various people and businesses, which we are hugely grateful about, and we hope to generate plenty of interest and raise lots of money in the process.

“A target of £2,000 has been set and we are well on our way to reaching our goal.”

If you would like to support the team, you can visit their JustGiving page at www.justgiving.com/Leigh-Beattie.

For more information, or to collect a sponsorship form, please visit The Northern Pub, on Halifax Road, where Francis Spencer's Northern Ramblers are based.