EVER cursed at having to trek up a mountain of steps to reach your seat and watch the action at Portman Road?A family trio of Town fans along with ex-Blues star Simon Milton will be doing that several times over when they attempt to climb every staircase inside Ipswich's stadium tomorrow in aid of a good cause.

EVER cursed at having to trek up a mountain of steps to reach your seat and watch the action at Portman Road?

A family trio of Town fans along with ex-Blues star Simon Milton will be doing that several times over when they attempt to climb every staircase inside Ipswich's stadium tomorrow in aid of a good cause.

The threesome, John Duke, 59, and sons-in-law Steve Harvey, 44, and Richard Toll, 39, all of whom are season ticket holders and from Ipswich, came up with the idea - known as the Aisle Climb For Life - over a few pints last year.

They quickly enlisted the help of former midfield ace Milton to help them raise at least £3,000 for East Anglia's Children's Hospices (EACH).

The climb will take place in the morning before Town's pre-season friendly against Lazio, which will be Jim Magilton's first game as manager at Portman Road.

Their leg-busting charity drive has won support from long-serving Town defender Richard Naylor who is donating proceeds from his testimonial game due to take place in September to EACH.

Mr Duke revealed the group decided on the challenge after learning about the funding crisis affecting the children's hospices in the region.

EACH enhances the quality of life for terminally ill children, however it costs £4m per year to fund the hospices and with only ten per cent coming from government, public support is vital.

Mr Duke said: “We heard they had stopped the lottery funding and thought we should do something to support the hospices.

“We are all season ticket holders so we started thinking about the number of steps there are in Portman Road and it developed from there.”

With an estimated 3,000 steps inside the ground, their task will be anything but a walk in the park.

Mr Duke said: “We've all been training for the last three months.

“I have no idea how long it will take. It's a big challenge and we're looking forward to it, but we're a bit apprehensive.”

If you would like to make a donation towards this marathon climb, please visit www.justgiving.com/acfl

n. What do you think of their efforts? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN or email eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk

Weblink: www.each.org.uk