Staff from a leading Burton roof tiling company raised an amazing £9,000 for charity after enduring a gruelling 40-mile walk across Hadrian's Wall.
Russell Roof Tiles employees from Burton and Lockerbie took part in the challenging battle – starting at different parts of the country – to see who would be the first to get to the central point in Hexham.
Starting at Wallsend to the East and Bowness to the West, 'The Burtoneers' and 'Lockerbie Legion' put their best feet forward to race across the length of the wall and finish at the most central point, The Twice Brewed Inn. The hard fought challenge took both parties a total of 20 hours and resulted in a draw - along with blisters, minor injuries and lost toenails, according to the 40-strong Burton team.
Both teams say their greatest triumph was almost doubling their original target of £5,000 to £9,000 for the two Blood Bikes charities nominated: Shropshire Staffordshire Cheshire Blood Bikes and Dumfries and Galloway Blood Bikes.
The charity, run by volunteers, use motorcycles to courier urgent medical items including blood, X-rays, samples, drugs and documentation across NHS foundations. Their mission is to support the NHS with patient care by saving them time and money and promote a more positive image of the motorcycling community.
Burton team leader, Michael Palmer of Russell Roof Tiles, said: "It was a real uphill task for our team – we're not experienced trekkers by any means, but we trained hard to ensure we raised as much money as possible for the Blood Bikes."
Andrew Hayward, managing director at Russell Roof Tiles, said: "I want to congratulate everyone for the fantastic achievement for themselves, the charities and the business.
"No one at Russells' has walked Hadrian's Wall before so this was a huge and foreign challenge. But the staff are dedicated to fund-raising; they soldiered through pulled muscles, tweaked knees and ankles and multiple blisters. What made it all worth it though was to see the huge smile on the Blood Bikers faces at the finish line. I want to thank them for making that journey to support us."
