Police officer takes on 'Everesting' challenge

Sergeant Dan Haughton will walk up and down the steep drive to Stafford Castle for ten hours a day on Saturday and Sunday

It won't be the "thin blue line" for one Staffordshire police officer this weekend, more the Long Blue Walk as he climbs the height of Everest for charity.

Sgt Dan Haughton has set himself the "Everesting" challenge - to walk up and down the steep drive to Stafford Castle 290 times to reach the height of the mountain, which stands at 8,848.86m (29,031ft).

He aims to reach the summit on the Long Blue Walk in 10-hour stints from 0800 BST on Saturday and Sunday which, he says, will include doing a few "daft things" on the way.

Sgt Haughton is raising money for men's mental health charity Andy's Man Club, which has a group in the town, and Stafford-based Childhood Cancer Parents Alliance.

The "daft things" will include him potentially running some of the legs while wearing his public order kit, which means wearing padded protective gear and carrying a shield.

"It's going to be really hard," said the officer, who is hoping people will join him to do the uphill walks while he is on the downhill ones.

Stafford Castle sits on a 26 acre site, with a steep hill leading up to its keep

He could not decide which of the two charities to do it for, so decided on both.

Mental health calls are a "constant occurrence" explained Sgt Haughton, who wants to draw attention to the help Andy's Man Club can offer.

"Blokes still struggle to talk about how they feel, and the sad facts are, 75% of all suicides are men, so it's something close to my heart," he said.

And the people behind Childhood Cancer Parents Alliance, which support families across the Midlands following a child's cancer diagnosis, are "so passionate about what they do, it moves you," he said.

"They are a massively heart-warming charity for a tragic thing," added the officer.