THREE men in their sixties overcame blisters and bad knees to complete a gruelling 100 mile trek over six days for a cancer charity.

Martyn Brown, 64, his brother Paul Brown, 60, and their close friend Ken Griffiths, 61, all from Darlington, walked the Teesdale Way, following the River Tees from Dufton in the Pennines to South Gare Breakwater at Redcar.

The trekking trio, who started on Sunday, November 1, and finished on Friday, November 6, exceeded their £500 target by raising £1,486.86 for Cancer Research UK.

The men walked for 36 hours in total, scaling rolling moors shrouded in mist, stumbling upon waterfalls along the River Tees and sighting 12th century castles on their journey.

They were prompted to do the walk after seeing an appeal in The Northern Echo in March from the paper's cricket and rugby correspondent, Tim Wellock, urging readers to take part.

Martyn Brown, who has three grandchildren, said: "I'm really, really proud that we did it. It was quite a test of endurance, bits of it were enjoyable, bits of it were hard.

"£1,500 is a substantial sum which I hope can be put to the good use of curing cancer. There's not many of us that don't know someone who has been touched by it.

"Uncles and aunties in the family have been affected and friends have died of it in the past so it's a really worthy cause to support."

It is an added success for Mr Brown, a part time chemical company worker, who tried and failed to complete the 96 mile West Highland Way trek across Scotland some years previously.

Meanwhile his brother Paul has done the Teesdale Way trek three times before and is planning a coast to coast walk next year.

Despite all being in their sixties, Mr Brown said that, aside from the odd blister, they completed the trek unscathed.

"For three ageing men we all do quite a lot of exercise. I prefer cycling and try to do it two to three times a week.

"Some people can raise a lot of money by sitting in an office. We had to do it for six days, one after another, so we feel like we've earned it.

"I'm really thankful to all our friends and colleagues who have dug deep in their pockets and donated."