Fundraisers brave ‘horrendous’ conditions to complete Three Peaks challenge to buy cricket club defibrillator

Two intrepid women have braved ‘horrendous’ weather to raise money for a defibrillator at their local cricket club.
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

In almost permanent rain, Alyson Taylor and Joanne Crosby took up the Yorkshire Three Peaks challenge.

Generous sponsorship generated the £1,800 needed to buy the device and its box, which is now mounted on a wall at Seaham Harbour Cricket Club.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The challenge takes on the peaks of Pen-y-ghent, Whernside and Ingleborough in under 12 hours – all three peaks are well over 2,000 ft.

Yorkshire Three Peak conquerors Alyson Taylor, left and Joanne Crosby with Ian Patterson, vice-chair and team captain of Seaham Harbour Cricket Club with their new defibrillator.Yorkshire Three Peak conquerors Alyson Taylor, left and Joanne Crosby with Ian Patterson, vice-chair and team captain of Seaham Harbour Cricket Club with their new defibrillator.
Yorkshire Three Peak conquerors Alyson Taylor, left and Joanne Crosby with Ian Patterson, vice-chair and team captain of Seaham Harbour Cricket Club with their new defibrillator.

Initially Alyson, a support tutor at East Durham College and Joanne, an NVQ tutor, were just going to take up the challenge for their own personal achievement. But then they realised they could turn it into a good cause.

They were partly inspired by the incident at Euro 2020, when Denmark footballer suffered a cardiac arrest aged just 29. This brought home the fact that it can happen to people at any age and fitness level.

The age range of players in the cricket club’s various teams is from seven up to those in their 50s. They include Joanne’s 18 year-old son Niall.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Although Alyson and Joanne can be proud of their achievement, they probably won’t be doing it again any time soon.

The new defibrillator went straight up on the wall at Seaham Harbour Cricket Club.The new defibrillator went straight up on the wall at Seaham Harbour Cricket Club.
The new defibrillator went straight up on the wall at Seaham Harbour Cricket Club.

Joanne said: “It was horrendous. The weather was just awful. It chucked it down for hours and hours. Nothing had prepared us. We talked about stopping and just giving the money back between us! But we’ve raised the money and it was a relief to finish.

“Originally we were just going to do the three peaks for ourselves; not for any sponsorship or charity. But the cricket club is also our local. Our family and friends go there. So we thought we might as well raise some money.

“Hopefully we’ll never need to use the defibrillator, but at least it’s there. We might save someone’s life, even if we’re not there.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“We were thinking maybe a couple of hundred pounds. But then we set up a JustGiving page and raised over £1,700. We got one anonymous donation of £200.

"They didn’t want recognition, they just wanted to donate because they thought it was a good cause.

“We’d like to thank everyone who donated very much. That’s what got us through to the end.”

Read More
Sunderland derby-day legend Wayne Entwistle smashes charity cycling target

Support your Echo and become a subscriber today. Enjoy unlimited access to all of our news and sport, see fewer ads, experience faster load times, test your brain with daily puzzles and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. The Sunderland Echo has been on Wearside since 1873, and your support means we can continue telling your stories for generations to come. Click here to subscribe.

Related topics: