A SPREYTON couple will next month be heading off to climb Mount Roraima in Venezuela.

The mountain that inspired Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's "The Lost World" is the challenge partners Annie Lott and Liam James, both aged 23, intend to climb in six days.

The trek will involve climb the 9,000ft (3,000m) peak, which is in one of the most unique and hostile environments in the world.

The couple hope to raise sponsorship of their venture for local children's charity CHICKS (Country Holidays for Inner City Kids), which provides free respite holidays for children from underprivileged backgrounds across the whole of the UK.

Annie has been involved with Chicks as a volunteer for the past five years.

She said she has seen, first hand, the pleasure the children get from getting out and about.

Annie explained: "Having worked with the charity, I know that all the money raised goes toward the children and the trips.

"I did a Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award and for part of the award I had to do a residential trip, so I chose Chicks.

"I was so impressed with the good work the charity did that I decided to regularly volunteer."

Annie, who works on her family's dairy farm near Spreyton, said that she and her boyfriend, Liam, who works for the Environment Agency, are keen walkers and have already scaled many UK peaks, including Ben Nevis.

She said she was nervous about flying because she has not flown in a plane before, but was "really excited" about the venture.

It will mean taking a steep walking route to the top and down again and will, therefore, not require rock climbing equipment.

The respite holidays the charity provides includes holidays for children from all manner of underprivileged backgrounds across the country, including young carers, cases of poverty, neglect, and increasingly cases of abuse.

Chicks provides a holiday break to children away from stressful and often suppressing home lives. It has centres in Devon at Brentor and near Par in Cornwall.

The charity relies on voluntary help and receives no government funding, relying on donations.

The couple are currently two thirds of the way to their £6,000 fundraising target, thanks to generous support from Cornish Mutual Assurance, local businesses, sponsors and generous benefactors.

Donations would be welcomed. Visit their justgiving page, http://www.justgiving.com/liamandannie">www.justgiving.com/liamandannie or call Annie on 07747013388 for more details.

To find out more about Chicks, visit: http://www.chicks.org.uk">www.chicks.org.uk .