STOKE City boss Tony Pulis and celebrity fan Nick Hancock are to scale new heights to help one of their favourite charities.

The long-time supporters of the Donna Louise Children's Hospice Trust have announced they will climb Mount Kilimanjaro, above, for the cause in May.

Each of them will head up separate teams and compete to see who can raise the most money.

More names from the world of sport and entertainment are expected to join the jaunt dubbed Kili 4 Kids.

Both teams have set targets of £30,000 for the week-long event.

They will be joined on the trek of Africa's highest peak by The Sentinel's Stoke City reporter Martin Spinks.

Manager Tony Pulis is no stranger to physical feats for the cause just along the road from the Britannia Stadium after raising £40,000 running the London Marathon last year.

He told The Sentinel: "Football players are treated so well in a privileged society so to go to the hospice and see the kids who have not been dealt the best hand in life brings you back down to earth and reality.

"I feel extremely honoured to be able to help by fund-raising again.

"Through the industry I work in, that is where I will be asking people to be generous."

Television personality Nick Hancock has helped the hospice on a number of occasions and was announced as one of its charity champions.

The former They Think It's All Over presenter is enjoying the competitive banter.

Nick said: "Tony is going to have at least 27,500 people supporting him so I would say please sponsor me. I need it more."

He added: "Clearly there is going to be a fitness element, especially going up against Tony.

"I have done things in Africa before and also know you shouldn't underestimate things such as the loss of home comforts.

"They can dig away at your mental strength and make things more challenging.

"But you only have to look at the work the Donna Louise does to realise this will all be so worthwhile."

The hospice looks after seriously-ill children and their families. It costs £2 million a year to run and was forced to shut its doors two nights a week due to the recession last year.

Melanie Mills, head of fund-raising and PR, said: "It is so important for us to have the support of high profile individuals such as Tony Pulis and Nick Hancock.

"When they lend their voices to our cause, it makes people sit up and take notice."

The fund-raiser, from May 17 to 25, is sponsored by Longton-based Tile Giant.

To sponsor any member of the team log on to www.kili4kids.org