Staff from defence company Thales, in Wells, have taken part in the gruelling Three Peaks Challenge to raise money for Marie Curie Cancer Care.

The three teams from Wells, called Thales Air Operations 09, The Mendip Marauders and ISBG, totalled 29 members of staff.

They took part in the quest to scale the three highest mountains in England, Scotland, and Wales in less than 24 hours.

The teams' challenge began at the foot of Ben Nevis on Saturday afternoon. Dressed in thick clothing and equipped with survival essentials such as compasses, torches and first aid kits, the walkers began the demanding ascent which finished at the summit about five hours later.

Once back down, the teams embarked on a 248-mile drive to the next mountain – each team had an allotted driver so the walkers could rest and eat while travelling between destinations.

They then scaled the notoriously steep and rocky Scafell Pike in the Lake District before driving 212 miles to Snowdon on Sunday, and tackling a daunting 1,085m climb lasting four hours.

The Thales Air Operations 09 team came out on top, completing the challenge in just over 24 hours and 20 minutes, and raising £1,830.

The Mendip Marauders were slower, taking 26 hours and 49 minutes. They raised £4,535. ISBG completed the challenge in 27 hours and 30 minutes, and raised more than £1,800.

Bob Watson, Captain of ISBG said: "One of our team members had an injury whilst scaling Ben Nevis, which slowed us up a bit, but we all managed to finish – to us, that was the most important thing."

Martin Chandler, captain of the Mendip Marauders, said: "We're happy to have been given the chance to support Marie Curie – it's such a worthy and important cause."

David Baddeley, captain of Thales Air Operations 09, said: "We were exhausted crossing the finish line, but feel it was a massive personal achievement."