A TEAM of five intrepid explorers are taking on the challenge of a lifetime to help Brooke Lawrance’s dream come true.

With temperatures reaching below -15C and 14 hard days of trekking to altitudes of 5,400 metres above sea level, the Mount Everest team face a gruelling challenge.

Friends Mark Hughes and Terry Harding teamed up to take on the challenge next March in aid of Brooke’s Wish To Walk appeal which was set up to pay for a �70,000 life-changing operation for six-year-old Brooke, from Morland Road, Ipswich.

And thanks to Twitter another three people have signed up – Sam Flitton, Amy Champion and former Great Britain rugby league player Bobbie Goulding.

Mr Hughes, from Surrey, said: “None of us know the Lawrance family personally and this has happened through Twitter.

“Myself and Terry wanted to do something for charity but couldn’t decide on which one to support so we got in touch with the Lawrance family and set up our challenge.”

Brooke, who was diagnosed with cerebral palsy as a baby, has been confined to a wheelchair since.

She will undergo the selective dorsal rhizotomy operation in November at St Louis Children’s Hospital in Missouri, America.

Mr Hughes said: “We want to raise �100,000 for Brooke and the Tree of Hope charity.

“We’re aiming to be able to pay for Brooke’s treatment and physiotherapy for three years following her operation as well as help other children via Tree of Hope.”

To date, the Lawrance family have raised more than �57,000.

Visit www.justgiving.com/ClimbingEverest4Brooke to sponsor the team or www.justgiving.com/brookeswishtowalk to donate.