YORKSHIRE Building Society staff have raised more than £48,000 for a good cause by taking on the Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge.

Some 240 colleagues, including more than 100 from Bradford, took part in a gruelling 10 or 26 mile walk in aid of leading UK charity FareShare.

The money raised will fund Building Skills for the Future programmes in seven of FareShare's regional centres.

These programmes include CV and interview skills workshops, helping people to gain employment.

Tom Simpson, a managing director at Yorkshire Building Society, said: "The walk itself was really challenging but everyone was so determined to complete it and raise as much money as possible for FareShare, Yorkshire Building Society's charity partner. 

"We're delighted that we've managed to raise more than £48,000 so far, which will help towards our target of raising £1 million to fund Building Skills for the Future programmes that will help to lift over 2,500 people out of financial hardship."

Polly Bianchi, director of fundraising at FareShare, said: "We're hugely grateful to all the Yorkshire Building Society colleagues who took on this challenge in support of FareShare."

For more information about Yorkshire Building Society's partnership with FareShare, visit www.ybs.co.uk/fareshare