STAFF at a Winchester jewellery shop are taking an extreme approach to a charity hike.

Sarah France and James Rudge of Jeremy France Jewellers in Winchester will be heading to Africa in late March to take part in a gruelling six-day walk through the Sahara desert.

The pair will be covering around 20 miles a day travelling with the local Berber tribe who will act as their guides.

Sarah, director of the jewellers, said: “It’s going to be a challenge. It has the largest temperature extremes in the world. We have camels to carry our tents but we have to carry around two litres of water minimum in our rucksacks minimum so they will be very heavy.”

Their mission is part of the Steve Power Sahara Challenge for Wave 105’s Cash for Kids scheme to raise money for underprivileged children.

Sarah added: “I wanted a challenge that no one else had done before and something that was different. We have been dealing with Wave 105 for a number of years and we heard about this through them.

“We are raising money for a local children’s charity and that’s something I feel very strongly about.”

James, who is being accompanied by his girlfriend Natalie O’Brien on the hike, said: “I did a charity sky dive last year for a different charity so when Sarah said she wanted to do this I thought I would get on board.”

But James, a goldsmith, added: “The problem is we won’t be able to have a bath for six days!”

A minimum sponsorship of £1,500 each is required but Sarah has already met that target, raising almost £5,000. James and Natalie have raised £1,000 so far with a further £2,000 needed between them.

Sarah is also holding a raffle with the proceeds going to the charity fund. Tickets are available from the High Street jewellers.

To sponsor the pair online visit www.justgiving.com/suzysarahsaharachallenge for Sarah or www.justgiving.com/james-nat-sahara-challenge for James.