LOMOND Addiction Service have presented Robin House Children's Hospice with a cheque of £625 after completing a climb on Ben Lomond.

The climb took place in September and saw members of staff from the addiction service head up the Ben and beat their fundraising target of £500 with it all going to Robin House, Balloch's Children's Hospice Association Scotland (CHAS) site.

The staff, comprised of nurses, addiction workers and admin personnel, were encouraged to take on the challenge by their colleague Gioia Sichi-Smith who works as a Harm Reduction/BBV Nurse in various West Dunbartonshire Outreach Clinics and from the Dumbarton Joint Hospital.

Gioia told The Reporter: "We just like to do things for charity. We did the foodbank last year and it went really well so we were looking for something new to do this year. It was actually my partner who gave me the idea, he did it for charity.

"We put the email out and people within the Addiction Service took to it. There were 11 of us altogether.

"It was a great experience, hard, but we did have a good time. We stopped every so often for food and to have rest and take a drink.”

It didn't all go smoothly though as Gioia and the team took a wrong turn at the top: "We actually ended up coming down the other side because someone told us it was easier to come down that way but it turned out to be much more difficult!

“Luckily Helen, one of the nurses, had a barbecue all ready for us at the bottom. It was a great team-building exercise and we did it for a good cause, so it was definitely worth it."

Claire Benjamin, Community Fundraising Manager for CHAS, expressed her thanks to the team saying: “The team at Lomond Addiction Service took on a gruelling challenge to raise money and awareness for CHAS.

“It’s no mean feat, it’s a tough challenge and we were delighted to have been able to thank them in person at Robin House. The funds raised will help us in continuing to provide specialist care to those that need it most.”