It’ll take more than a global pandemic to stop Peeblesshire scouts fulfilling their promise.

Brothers Ben and Sam Turpie are climbing Ben Nevis and Mount Everest – and a national lockdown won’t stand in their way.

The Cardrona pair have launched a fundraising challenge that will see them scale the mountains' equivalent height by going up and down stairs.

Ben, 11, said: “I thought it was a good idea to fundraise as we all have to stay at home. It’s something Sam and I can do in our own house."

Face-to-face scouting ceased in the middle of March, but the movement is continuing through virtual meetings, online challenges, and The Great Indoors initiative.

Supporting communities is at the heart of what scouts do – and the Turpie brothers are determined to honour that tradition.

The boys took inspiration from scouting friend Caroline McCann, who was due to start her own adventure to Everest base camp at the end of March, but is now completing a virtual version with friends online.

Ben and 14-year-old Sam, an Explorer Scout, worked out the height of the mountains and the height of their stairs and created their own charts to record their progress over 60 days.

Ben worked this out at roughly 10 flights of stairs a day, while Sam has to complete a daily set of 60.

They have set themselves the target of raising £500 for The Food Foundation, and hope that people will get behind their fundraising efforts and donate.

The Food Foundation is now providing over 50 meals-on-wheels a day, free of charge, to those who are isolated, housebound or being shielded. The service is run by volunteers and relies on donated ingredients also.

Ben and Sam have made a new scout promise amidst the pandemic, and that’s to help those in need in their community. But they’ve got mountains to climb and they need your help to reach the top.

• All funds are sent directly to The Food Foundation through JustGiving. The boys have raised £154 so far and would love to see their target of £500 achieved. To donate, visit: www.justgiving.com/fundraising/nevis-everest