FUNDRAISING can be an uphill task - but the people supporting paralysed teenager Nick Biddlecombe are scaling new heights.

Fawley Parish Council employees staged a sponsored slim in aid of the former footballer, who was crippled in a diving accident last year.

Staff at the Gang Warily community centre in Newlands Road, Blackfield, were joined on the scales by colleagues at the Jubilee Hall, Fawley.

The £468 raised will be added to the sum raised by teacher Bryan Hurst when he takes part in a sponsored ascent of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania this month. Mr Hurst, 48, of Holbury, wants to help 18-year-old Nick buy equipment to help him cope with his disability. He said: "Nick needs several items, including a £6,000 wheelchair and a £16,000 van to help him to get about. He also needs a £3,000 remote control device to enable him to operate lights and curtains."

Nick, of Blackfield, broke his neck diving into the sea at Lepe last year and is paralysed from the chest down.

He spent more than 12 months in hospital before being moved to a unit at Snowdon House, Ashurst.