A?MARATHON?ladder climb which provided a crowd-pleasing centrepiece for Petersfield’s Summer Festival gave visitors plenty of ups and downs – 1,545 of them.

Thousands thronged the streets and The Square on Sunday, the brightest day of the Bank Holiday weekend, with festival-goers saying it was the busiest they had ever seen the town.

One of the highlights that day was the ladder climb achieved by ten Petersfield firefighters, who were cheered by visitors.

They took it in turns to go up and down the 12 metre ladder in The Square 1,545 times over 12 hours, raising thousands of pounds for Project Gambia, which helps African children with their education.

Petersfield fireman Steve Stidolph, who led the challenge, has a target of £10,000 to raise by December when he pays a third visit to the school he is supporting.

“Everyone loved the ladder climb,” said Steve. “It was very tiring but we just treated it like a military exercise.”