Mountaineers have scaled Mount Everest on a Suffolk climbing wall to raise funds for three charities.

East Anglian Daily Times: The Ipswich Mountaineering Club Members are taking on the challenge in honour of the club’s members Hannah and Daniel Constable-Simmonds, who sadly lost their newborn baby girl, Issy, after she was born with a heart defect. Pictured at the Cragg climbing wall at Mid Suffolk Leisure Centre. Hannah and Daniel Constable-Simmonds,The Ipswich Mountaineering Club Members are taking on the challenge in honour of the club’s members Hannah and Daniel Constable-Simmonds, who sadly lost their newborn baby girl, Issy, after she was born with a heart defect. Pictured at the Cragg climbing wall at Mid Suffolk Leisure Centre. Hannah and Daniel Constable-Simmonds,

Ipswich Mountaineering Club took on the dizzy heights of the Cragg Climbing Wall in Stowmarket, beginning at 9am in a bid to reach 8,848 metres – the top of the world.

The challenge was held after club members Hannah and Dan Constable-Simmonds lost their first child Issy aged just 12 days last April when she was born with Downs Syndrome and a heart defect.

So far the climbers have raised more than £2,000 to be shared between the Evelina Children’s Hospital, the Downs Syndrome Association and Ronald McDonald House Charities, all of which supported the Ipswich couple during the pregnancy and through-out Issy’s life.

The climbers needed to scale the wall at Mid-Suffolk Leisure Centre 1,400 times to reach the equivalent of the Mount Everest summit, and had reached the peak at 12.33pm after beginning at 9am.

Undeterred the team of club mountaineers and public climbers continued to climb to reach a height of more than 13,500 metres for the day.

Hannah, 40, who is now expecting her second child in May, said: “Issy was only with us for 12 days but had such amazing care, and we wanted to find another way to say thank you to all the charities who supported us.

“The club, which we have been members of for quite a few years now, wanted to do something for us to mark Issy’s little life.

“It has been an incredible day with more than 30 people climbing for us, including two little girls who donated five climbs for us.

“It feels very special to have so many friends who have helped us along our journey, given up their time to help us and other people. We have such a fantastic group of friends who have really pulled together for us.

“That support has made a journey which no-one wants to have to go through a lot easier.

“We would like to say a big thank you to everyone involved, including the Cragg wall, Jeremy and Ian from the club for organising it and all those who climbed.”

To support to the challenge visit its online donation page.