A GROUP of Bury men will try and conquer the UK’s three highest peaks in memory of a close friend.

Michael Simpson, Iain Alexander and Tommy Boswell are taking on the Three Peaks challenge on Saturday in memory of their friend John McEntyre, who died in March.

They will be joined by Mr McEntyre’s 15-year-old son Hughie for the challenge, which will see them try to scale the highest peaks in Wales, England and Scotland within 24 hours.

In doing so, they will walk more than 23 miles with a total ascent of more than 10,000 feet ­— the equivalent of more than a third of the way up Mount Everest.

The group hope to raise more than £5,000 for Wipe Your Tears, a charity supporting seriously and terminally ill children.

Mr Simpson, a former Royal Marine who lives in Walmersley, said: “We wanted to do something in memory of John and we had talked about doing this a few times.

“We thought we would try to raise money for a good cause as well.”