Pair to climb highest peak for 'recovery' bakery

Two men are in training to climb Iceland's highest mountain to help fund a bakery that would offer vital work experience to fellow reformed addicts.

Tommy Tonner, 35, and Colin Kerr, 45, had "broken backgrounds" and turned their lives around after completing a Christian charity's rehabilitation programme.

They hope that scaling the 2,110m (6,900ft) Hvannadalshnukur will pay for fixtures and fittings for Harry's Recovery Kitchen, which would bake products for Teen Challenge's coffee shop in Drayton, near Norwich.

Mr Kerr said he hoped the project would "give people that little bit of drive, to ignite a fire in them to want to do better".

Teen Challenge, based at Drayton Hall, is an intensive course of drug and alcohol rehabilitation for men aged 18 to 60 and involves learning new skills and building confidence.

"I struggled for over 20 years. I've done 14 years in prison through addiction and I wanted to break that cycle," explained Mr Tonner.

"I had to reach out and get help, and Teen Challenge has been that, and it's been one of the toughest things I've done.

"It's amazing to watch the growth in the lads who go through it."

The men's Icelandic adventure is planned for next spring, with the pair recently completing their first training climb at Ben Nevis, the UK's highest peak at 1,345m (4,412ft).

Mr Tonner said he was overcome with emotion and credited his friend with helping him reach the summit.

"Teen Challenge and Ben Nevis are the only things I've ever completed. Both were painful, but I overcame it; it was a breakthrough," he added.

Mr Kerr, who struggled with alcoholism and drug addiction for more than two decades, will manage the Drayton-based bakery when it opens and supplies baked goods for 5:17 Coffee House on Fakenham Road.

"Lads coming through the programme can get work experience, as a lot of them have never worked a day in their life," he said.

"This is about pulling a community together.

"I think back to when I was 16 to 18 - 'What did I need in my life?' - and it would have been an initiative like this; to be around the right people to help me make the right decisions.

"This could be a real lifesaver."

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