Mr Clayton from SFL has emerged from a cave triumphant after spending 48 hours in the damp and cold to raise money for Weston Park Cancer Hospital.

Chris walked into Giant's Hole cave in Castleton where he spent the next two days walking, crawling, squeezing and abseiling his way around the network of caves and camped out underground in honour of his best friend Steve Griffiths, who is being treated for bowel, bladder and prostate cancer.

He was joined by his 16-year-old son Rhys and five friends and relatives, who together raised around £2,000 for the charity.

After the ordeal he said: "We are all absolutely thrilled to have achieved what we set out to achieve for such a fantastic cause. The 48 hours in the cave were very challenging - we experienced a few highs and lots of lows, but the main thing is we all managed to stick it out”.

"When my friend Steve initially found out about the caving expedition he thought we were all mad! We tried to keep positive by thinking about the reason we were doing the challenge in the first place”.

"I think everyone in the group had wobbly moments whilst we were down there, mainly due to claustrophobia and the damp and cold, but by spurring each other on and supporting each other we got through it."

Catherine Newman, senior fundraiser at Weston Park Hospital Cancer Charity, said: "What Chris and the others have achieved in honour of their friend is truly inspirational and we are honoured the money raised will go to Weston Park Hospital Cancer Charity. This generous donation will help us to support research, treatment and care for people living with cancer."