Clive and Jane McCready decided that instead of going away on an expensive holiday or throwing a party to mark their anniversary on July 25, they would tackle Britain's highest mountain and raise funds for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust.

Mr and Mrs McCready, of Newton Road, Rushden, have a 20-year-old son, Ben, who was born with the disease.

Already avid walkers, they decided climbing Ben Nevis would be a great way to raise funds for the charity, and they may even be joined by their son.

Mr McCready, 52, said: "We are real outdoor folks and are always out and about, so we thought why not do it to raise funds.

"We climbed Mount Snowdon a couple of years ago and so we thought why not try the highest mountain in Britain?

"We have done various fundraising events in the past because our son has cystic fibrosis, but we hadn't done anything for five or six years and we thought it was time to start again.

"We feel there is not enough focus on cystic fibrosis and we would like to raise awareness of what difficulties people suffering from the disease face on a daily basis.

"It is a terminal illness and we live with it every day. It changes your entire life.

"My wife had to become a full-time carer for our son and he spends a lot of his time in and out of hospital as he has very poor health.

"We try our best to make everything as normal as possible and Ben is of the philosophy that it will not stop him doing anything. He is even going to try and climb Ben Nevis with us."

The couple will be doing the climb on Sunday, July 19, and have been walking and exercising as often as possible to get into shape.

They are hoping to raise about £1,000.

Cystic Fibrosis is the UK's most common life-threatening inherited disease and claims three lives a week in the UK.

It is caused by a single defective gene and as a result the internal organs, especially the lungs and digestive system, become clogged with sticky mucus, resulting in chronic infections and inflammation in the lungs and difficulty digesting food.

All money raised will help fund research into treating and curing the disease.

To sponsor Mr and Mrs McCready visit www.just giving.com/themccreadyfamily.