A GROUP of friends have raised a landmark figure for a cancer charity.

A GROUP of friends have raised a landmark figure for a cancer charity.

The friends, who call themselves the Suffolk seven, have just returned from a gruelling 11-day trek across the mighty Great Wall of China, during which they raised an equally massive �25,000 for Macmillan Nurses.

Sarah Wordley, Janet Poole and Sharon Ireland, who went to school together and all turned 40 last year, decided to do something ambitious to mark their milestone birthdays while raising funds for a worthy cause.

The trio were joined by Sally Godby - who lost her husband to cancer - and son Paul, both from Ipswich.

Steve Willerton and Adam Williamson, who both work for Brown & Co in Bury St Edmunds, completed the trekking team looking for another challenge having already completed the daunting Three Peaks Challenge for Macmillan two years ago, during which climbers attempt to scale the three highest peaks in Britain in less than 24 hours.

Mrs Ireland, from Boxford, said: “Believe me when I say that the trek was no 'holiday'.

“We climbed and trekked for six days through some very rough terrain, some days trekking for more than seven hours.

“We also rough camped throughout the trek. No luxurious hotels and showers for us - it was wet wipes and a hole in the ground. Lovely!”

The trek took the intrepid Suffolk seven through the Yanshan Mountains of northern China, following the Great Wall as it snaked across the mountains peaks.