STAFF members from Malvern Hills and Wychavon councils, joined by friends, will push a piano to the top of the Worcestershire Beacon to raise money in the name of a colleague battling cancer.

The team will be ascending more than 1,300 feet when they take on the Malvern Piano Push in aid of the Worcestershire Breast Unit Haven.

The challenge takes place on Saturday, June 3, starting from the town centre at 11am. The group, dressed as Victorian adventurers, will stop off at several locations along the way for short performances before resuming their mission.

Malvern Male Voice Choir will also be making an appearance and there will be a final performance once the group reaches the summit. The team hope to raise £2,000 for the charity and so far more than £900 has been pledged.

The idea for the fund-raiser followed news that Nicky Stevens, who works for Malvern Hills, was diagnosed with breast cancer shortly before Christmas 2016.

She said: “I knew something wasn’t quite right and I went to the doctor, found the lump and I was referred for tests. When it was confirmed as cancer I was frightened.

“I didn’t know how I was going to deal with it but the support I’ve had from friends, family and work has been amazing and inspired me.”

The 48-year-old is currently undergoing chemotherapy at the Worcestershire Royal Hospital, and will then have to have surgery.

“The chemotherapy is hard and becoming more intrusive. I am naturally a bubbly and enthusiastic person and the treatment does make it hard to be me really at times. But being able to carry on working has meant I’m not isolated and the support has been amazing. To hear about the piano push and all the other fund-raising people are doing means the world to me.

“The Haven is such a special place. It doesn’t just deal with the medical side but it provides counselling and a lot of the emotional support you need as well when you’re fighting cancer.”

To donate or for more information, visit justgiving.com/fundraising/MalvernHillPianoPush.