A Suffolk RAF team carried a whisky barrel to the top of the UK's highest peak to raise cash for a veterans charity.

A team hailing from RAF Honington, near Bury St Edmunds, climbed Ben Nevis while hauling a whisky barrel to raise £1,800 for the RAF Benevolent Fund.

East Anglian Daily Times: A team hailing from RAF Honington, near Bury St Edmunds, climbed Ben Nevis while hauling a whisky barrel to raise £1,800 for the RAF Benevolent Fund.A team hailing from RAF Honington, near Bury St Edmunds, climbed Ben Nevis while hauling a whisky barrel to raise £1,800 for the RAF Benevolent Fund. (Image: Stuart Clark/RAF Benevolent Fund)

Flight lieutenant Stuart Clark, who initially came up with the idea, said: "It seemed like something unique that hadn't been done before and weird enough to be attention-grabbing and challenging.

"How many people can say they carried a whisky barrel up the UK's highest mountain? Judging by the looks on some people's faces as we walked past it had the desired effect."

They completed the 4,413ft climb in eight hours and 40 minutes, weighted down by the 52kg barrel.

East Anglian Daily Times: They completed the 4,413ft climb in eight hours and 40 minutes, weighted down by the 52kg barrel.They completed the 4,413ft climb in eight hours and 40 minutes, weighted down by the 52kg barrel. (Image: Stuart Clark/RAF Benevolent Fund)

The four-person team comprised of Stuart, flight lieutenants Campbell Steel and Robert 'Bobby' Homes from RAF Honington and sergeant Michael 'Smudge' Smyth from RAF Mildenhall.

Stuart added: "It went much better than I'd ever expected. I honestly expected to be up there in the dark, 12 hours after we'd started, hating each other and debating about pushing the barrel off a cliff!

"But in the end we smashed it, getting up and down in a time some people would struggle to manage without the barrel."

East Anglian Daily Times: The four-person team hailed from RAF Honington and Mildenhall.The four-person team hailed from RAF Honington and Mildenhall. (Image: Stuart Clark/RAF Benevolent Fund)

They managed to raise £1,800 for the RAF Benevolent Fund, the RAF's leading welfare charity which provides practical, financial and emotional support to personnel, veterans, their partners and dependants.

Stuart said: "I've seen the good that the RAF Benevolent Fund does and having observed one of the funding boards where they were judging cases and requests for support, I was impressed by the breadth of people it helps.

"I think the scope of its work is admirable and I'd like to think that should I ever need to call on the fund for help, I'll have offered it some support before I needed its help."