A CONISTON mountain rescuer and scout leader is set to scale the height of Everest to raise funds.

Lee Harris and his fellow scout leader Lesley McCartney will each climb the 803 metre Old Man of Coniston 14 times within a week, to equal Mount Everest’s height of 8,848m.

The intrepid pair will start their mountainous challenge on May 11, with money raised to be split equally between Coniston Mountain Rescue Team and the 1st Hawkshead Scout Pack.

“We’re both passionate about mountain rescue, and this is something we thought we could do to help,” said Lee.

“We’re relatively fit but we’re doing a bit of training to prepare for it.”

Lee said during the week he will aim to scale the peak at least twice a day, using different routes, “to keep myself interested.”

The pair have a fundraising target of £1,000, and are currently more than half way there with £650 raised so far.

Lee explained: “The money for mountain rescue will go towards general funds, and for the Scout pack it’s mainly for new equipment – which is much-needed as the group has doubled in size over the last 12 months.”