A GROUP of seven will be taking to the three peaks this weekend to help raise towards £30,000 so a Grappenhall girl can take her first steps.

Alyla Stokes, aged three, needs an SDR operation to reduce muscle stiffness as she has cerebral palsy which is group of disorders that affect a person's ability to move and maintain balance and posture.

They have until she is nine to raise £30,000, with over £11k raised so far, but her aunty Jackie Stokes says while she is developing, now is the time to act.

So this weekend, friends will be taking on Snowdon, Scarfell Pike and Ben Nevis to raise funds towards helping Alyla take her first steps.

“It’s amazing. It would just mean everything to raise the money and see her develop. She’s so happy, she’s so grateful for everything that we’re doing, but she’s also cognitively aware of things and she does get frustrated when she can’t move,” Jackie, who lives in Lymm, said.

“To see her take her first steps and walk, potentially with a frame, it’s going to be amazing to give her that life and independence as she gets older so she’s not reliant on her wheelchair.

Alyla, who goes to the Cheshire Day nursery, currently falls on her knees and is ‘slightly underdeveloped’. She will need operations on her eyes and won’t be able to take her first steps without this surgery.

“It was just local people around Alyla where she lives that set up the Just Giving page, they were asking what her situation is to asking what kind of things she needed in her life, so they chose the three peaks challenge to raise money and do something for her.”

And it is those people close to Alyla who are taking on the feat of endurance. Andy Wilkes, Gary Freeman, Daz Lloyd, Sarah Hardy, John Hunt, Chris Brownlow and Nick Ross will all set off this evening, Friday, for Wales.

There is also a group taking on a triathlon challenge in August including Carl Palmer, Gary Freeman, Tony Walsh, Jim Goodier, Dan Foden, Darrell Graham, Al Cassin, Darren Nogeral, Stewart Edwards, Dan Roberts and Phil Cartwright.

When everyone finishes the challenge on Sunday, they will have some well-deserved food and drinks ready for them at the Crown in Lymm.

To donate to Alyla’s cause, you can do so here.