FOUR friends are planning to strip down to just their boots in a bid to conquer the Three Peaks Challenge – and at the same time raise money to help fund work at a school in Tanzania.

Their 24-hour quest will take place on Thursday, April 4, when they head to Ben Nevis, in Scotland, then cross the border into England to tackle Scafell Pike, before heading to Wales and climbing Snowdon.

The quartet is Matt Hulland, who lives in Bury St Edmunds and is a supervisor at Saints Café in the town centre, Chris Ling, of Ipswich who is a second chef at Ipswich Golf Club, James Piercy, of Bury, who is a sports injury specialist working in Newmarket, and Mat Shotbolt, of Thurston, a manager at Lifecycle UK in Bildeston. They have pledged to go naked if they can raise £10,000.

Shifting rocks to help build foundations for a girls’ school in central Tanzania where he worked as a volunteer prompted Matt to launch the challenge and he managed to persuade the other three to join him.

He said: “I think we’re safe because £10,000 is such a huge target – but who knows?”

“I worked for a short while as a volunteer in a village called Itagutwa, in central Tanzania, and was amazed at the poverty and the tiny amount of money needed to make huge differences to people’s lives. But I was even more impressed by the optimism and sheer determination of people living there.

“For the cost of a couple of lattes the school could hire labour for five days and £100 would kit out a classroom.

“I work in a café, rent a small flat and have a 15-year-old car but I feel so well off and incredibly privileged to live in Suffolk compared to those, especially the girls, who struggle to get an education and living in Tanzania.”

He has published a travel diary charting his journey through Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, Botswana and South Africa, called How to Clean Your Underwear in Africa.

The book is featured on an online travel chart and sells for a small donation, with every penny going to funding children in the village to go to school.

The friends have set up a website – matthulland.com – and are also holding a Zumba night on Monday, March 18, at the St John’s Centre, in St John’s Street, Bury, in a bid to raise funds.

It runs from 7-8.30pm.