HOUSING officers from Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council are set to embark on a sporting challenge to help the homeless.

Housing placement officer Neil Atkinson, social inclusion manager Rachel Fletcher, enforcement and support officer Debbie Mason and housing programme support officer David Pullar are aiming to bring in hundreds of pounds and raise awareness for the Real Change Not Loose Change campaign.

As previously reported in The Gazette, the campaign aims to raise funds for various organisations and charities which help homeless people in the borough.

An initial target of £15,565 was set to raise for the campaign, but with that target being surpassed, the housing officers want to add to that total.

The quartet is currently in training for the 2018 Optimum Performance Clinic Hart Adult Sprint Distance Triathlon, which takes place on Monday, 7 May.

Working together as a team, they will complete a 400m pool swim, a 20km bike, and a 5km run.

This will be Neil’s fifth triathlon and he is completing all three disciplines, while the others are taking on one each - David swimming, Debbie cycling and Rachel running.

Neil said: “As members of the council’s housing team, we often deal with situations involving homeless people or those facing homelessness and we understand the difficult issues they face.

“We wanted to show that we go the extra mile to help and opted to raise money for the fantastic Real Change campaign which aims to continue supporting homeless people in our community.

“The triathlon housing team is getting fired up to raise at least £500 to help the Real Change campaign, please support us.”

The borough council has supported this ongoing Real Change campaign through the Social Inclusion Partnership to provide rough sleepers with night shelter during the past two winters and vital funding for the Camrose Day Centre and Julian House in Basingstoke.

To support the housing team, visit justgiving.com/crowdfunding/therealchangecampaign.