Two women, three legs, an 886-metre ascent – and a considerable sum donated to a vital local service.

That is a brief overview of the remarkable efforts of two St Davids residents, who recently climbed the mountain of Pen y Fan, and raised £2,000 for the co-responder unit that is now situated at St Davids Fire Station.

Bur for Helen Carter and Nicola Davies, this was no ordinary climb. The pair took the term teamwork to the extreme when they decided to do the challenge ‘three-legged’.

“We approached Les Owen at St Davids Fire Station with the idea and he agreed,” explained Helen.

“We told everyone we’d set ourselves a target of raising £1,500 but deep down we wanted to reach £2,000.”

The pair then sent out letters to local businesses and made some ‘door to door’ visits, and were pleasantly taken aback at the generosity of the local community as they reached their target.

They also practiced on the nearby aerodrome and spent time in the Preseli Hills to try and get their co-ordination right.

However, what they couldn’t prepare for, was the heavy mist that confronted them the day they took on their challenge on August 21.

Regardless, with husbands Richard (Davies) and David (Carter) walking behind them in case of any accidents, the pair conquered the 886-metre ascent in just under 90 minutes.

“It was just as hard mentally as physically,” admitted Nicola.

“We couldn’t afford to take our eye off the ball. But in a way the mist helped because we couldn’t see the peak until we actually reached it, so there was no getting ahead of ourselves.

“Ironically once we got there the mist lifted.”

The women then enjoyed a well-earned glass of prosecco before starting their journey back down.

“We are so grateful to the businesses and individuals who made donations and can’t thank everyone enough,” said Helen.

All co-responder equipment is funded by public donations, and Les himself described Helen and Nicola's efforts as “absolutely brilliant.”

“They’ve done something special for us,” he said.

“We are raising funds for a new Rapid Response Vehicle and all the equipment needed with it – and this donation will go a long way towards that.”