Connells staff have put their best feet forward to raise more than £20,000 for the NSPCC.

A team of 50 staff from the national agency took part in the annual Gherkin challenge, which sees participants run or walk up the 38 floors and 1,037 steps to the top of one of the iconic London skyscrapers.

Stephen Shipperley, group chairman of Connells, said: “We are absolutely thrilled to have raised over £20,000 for the NSPCC, a charity that we have been supporting for more than 15 years.

“We have endeavoured to make this our best year of fundraising yet and, with the money still rolling in, we might just do that.

“The Gherkin Challenge was a great day out, full of fun and a good dose of friendly competition. On behalf of the business, I would like to say well done to everyone who took part and thank you to all those that sponsored our efforts for this deserving cause.”

Jacqui Venters, community fundraising manager at the NSPCC, said: “Congratulations to all those from Connells who took part in our Gherkin Challenge. Once again they have pulled out all the stops to help us protect children in Bedfordshire and across the country.

“On behalf of NSPCC, I can’t thank their staff enough for raising such a brilliant amount of money which will help fund services like Childline, which can be a lifeline for a young person in desperate need of support.

“Without the hard work of companies like Connells, we would not be able to do the vital work we do, whether that’s empowering children in schools to speak out and stay safe, or providing therapeutic services to young victims of abuse.”