CRICKETERS from the lowland pastures of Thornton-in-Craven will scale the mountainous heights of Snowdon today (Friday).

The nine-strong expedition is raising money to give something back to a sportsman who has given so much to their club in the past.

Alistair Turner, 20, of Kelbrook, has come up through the club's junior ranks, proving a committed, talented and popular player.

Last year he was one of the mainstays of Thornton's second team.

But earlier this year Alistair contracted meningitis and for a time it was touch and go whether he would survive the serious condition.

Thankfully he pulled through, but complications meant he had to have his lower leg amputated.

Learning to live with that disability will take the kind of character and grit that Alistair has in bucketfuls, but he will also need various pieces of kit to help him adjust, and that's where his team-mates at Thornton want to help out.

They are doing a sponsored climb of Snowdon today (Friday) to raise money for Alistair, to help him buy pieces of equipment as and when he needs them. That could include a more sophisticated artificial limb to help him continue with sports.

The team will leave Earby at 6am and hope to be back by 10.30pm tonight, having scaled the 3,560ft peak, the highest mountain in Wales.

For some of the team it won't be the first time, as they climbed Snowdon last year to raise money for the club.

The outbreak of foot and mouth disease put the club's home ground off limits and it had to raid its cash reserves to hire other grounds to play its matches.

However, the moneyspinning mountaineers enjoyed the experience so much they planned to repeat it this year and seized the chance to raise some money for Alistair at the same time.

Leading the team will be John Roughton, an experienced mountaineer who has climbed Snowdon many times and knows it well.

Other team members are Jeff Tipler, Martin Foster and his son Simon, Ian Clarkson, Richard Craddock, Andrew and Nick Bowker and Mark Proctor.

They have already been bowled over by a £500 donation from an anonymous benefactor and hope to hit the £2,000 mark through sponsorship by local businesses and individuals. Anyone who can help them hit that target by making a donation can ring Mark Proctor on 01282 869336.

Team member Martin Foster, a Thornton CC stalwart, said he was looking forward to the challenge and hoping for good weather, especially as parts of the route are quite precarious.