TWO Cheshire Fire officers braved the cold in Winsford to raise money for a trip to Nepal to build a school by sitting in a fire engine for 24-hours.

Nick Evans, youth and community cohesion officer and Vicky Wrest, cadet manager, staged the sit-in in a decommissioned vehicle used by cadets on drill nights.

The pair, equipped with sleeping bags and other essentials for the freezing night ahead, were woken up around 2am in the morning after they were disturbed by hail stones pounding on top of the vehicle.

Nick Evans said: “It sounded like a good idea when it was suggested in the summer, but little did we know that we were going to have some of the worst weather so far that night.

“We raised almost £500 from the event so it all goes towards the fund. I would like to thank everyone who gave generously, I think they may have felt a bit sorry for us.”

Working with the charity Classrooms in the Clouds (CitC), next November 20 young people and 10 team leaders will embark on a journey on foot through the Himalayas to get to the village of Thulodhunga in Nepal.

Many children in the Basa region work or take care of younger siblings or elderly relatives, so generally have no education.

The CitC’s mission is to provide affordable, accessible and sustainable education to all the children of Nepal.

A plot of land above the village has been secured and villagers have started building the school ready for the arrival of the Cheshire group next year.

The group will need to trek for a day and a half in order to get to the village, which is in sight of Everest, carrying all the equipment needed for the project.

The Cadets need to raise £3,250 each for the trip, which will pay for flights and accommodation and materials such as paint and equipment for the school so need to think about ways of raising the money themselves so this money will go towards the trip.

If anyone would like to find out more about the trip or to donate to the cadets going to Nepal then they should visit the Youth Engagement pages here. 

Alternatively they can phone 01606 868700 and speak to Cadet Manager Vicki Wrest.