WILTSHIRE relatives of a man who founded a charity to help abandoned children in Nepal have taken part in a challenge to help the cause.

Oliver Dawe-Lane, 17, and his dad Patrick Dawe-Lane from Rowde, near Devizes, joined Ed Turner, who set up Operation Nepali Child, on a trek in Yorkshire.

The Yorkshire Three Peaks involved traversing tough and rugged terrain to reach the top of the three highest mountains the in the region - Pen-Y-Ghent, Whernside and Ingleborough - in less than 12 hours.

Oliver and Mr Turner, 24, completed the whole 25 mile course while Oliver's dad joined them for the first peak. Mr Turner said: "Oliver and I continued onwards to complete the whole challenge in 9hrs 14 mins. So far we have raised nearly £600 for the children the charity supports in Nepal."

Oliver, a former pupil of The Mill, Potterne who is now a sports scholar at Millfield School in Somerset, did the charity fundraiser as part of his Duke of Edinburgh Silver Award.

Mr Turner said: "He did very well fundraising and raising awareness of the charity amongst his family and friends. His competitive and determined spirit was key to us achieving a quick finishing time."

Mr Turner was inspired to set up the charity after spending time teaching in Nepal in 2013 and the returned to do research for his masters thesis the following year. The need for help was made far more desperate after earthquakes in April.

He said: "We support 22 children, including a small children home called Sharada's Shelter for Children. After the earthquake they had to camp out after they were all evacuated from their original children home based in a small village near Kathmandu, which was quite badly damaged.

"They have now all settled into a new home on the edge of the capital. Financial pressures have significantly increased since the earthquakes. Operation Nepali Child has bee recently been focusing on using the funds raised to pay for all the children's education in particular."

He said his cousin and uncle from Rowde pledged to help the charity after hearing his stories about the children's plight. To find out more go to www.operationnepalichild.co.uk and www.facebook.com/operationnepalichild.