A NORTH Lancashire man and woman spent 12 hours sleeping in a hammock suspended from a zip wire in the name of charity.

Craig Brown, of Carnforth, and Kate McCallum, of Lancaster, spent the night at Old Hutton's Bendrigg Trust, in a bid to raise £5,000 to support 1Voice-Communicating Together.

The charity provides a network of support for people who use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) to speak and supports their families, friends and professionals. Craig is a volunteer at the South Lakeland charity and Kate is a trustee.

"We are both really passionate about giving people a voice," said Kate. "People are so isolated they might be the only person in their school or community that uses ACC or has the potential to use ACC because it's so rare."

Craig and Kate work together at Lancaster's Beaumont College. Craig is an assistive technologist with almost 20 years of experience volunteering and working with people with complex disabilities, challenging behaviour, autism and communication difficulties.

"My journey into AAC began when I was five," Kate said. "My brother was born with additional needs and is non verbal as a result.

"As I was growing up, each time I threw a penny in a wishing well or blew the candles out on my birthday cake, I would wish the same wish, it was that one day my brother would speak."

In 1995 Kate volunteered at The Bendrigg Trust outdoor centre that caters for people with disabilities.

"I met a lady who was using a voice output communication aid. The concept of pressing a button and getting words out was so exciting I spent the next few years trying to find out what these talking boxes were and to get him one," Kate said.

Six years later, Kate's brother Rob got his first communication aid and it changed his life and the lives of those around him.

Craig and Kate have so far raised more than £1,000 following a rainy 12 hours in the hammocks.

"It was challenging," Kate said. "The morning we were doing the challenge it was chucking it down and the mosquitos were horrible!"