Muddy fun raises money for The Air Ambulance Service

Staff from National Accident Helpline went above and beyond the call of duty at a recent event to raise money for corporate charity The Air Ambulance Service. The nine-strong team scrambled through mud, swam across a river and overcame a range of obstacles to complete the Mud, Sweat and Beer challenge at Shuckburgh Hall in Northamptonshire, described by organisers as an adventure race, an assault course and a mud festival.

Two courses were available to participants: a 5K version and a 10K challenge for more experienced runners. As is apparent from the photos (taken by Air Ambulance Service volunteer Richard Durham), even the 5K course was certainly not for the faint hearted!

"It took two days to get the mud out from underneath my fingernails," said one member of the team. As the name of the challenge suggests, the team were all rewarded with a much-welcomed ice cold bottle of beer at the finishing line.

Sponsorship money is still being collected but early indications are that the team will have raised almost £1,000 towards NAH's initial fundraising target of £10,000.

The Air Ambulance Service is the umbrella organisation for The Children's Air Ambulance; a national transfer service for seriously ill children and babies, and two Helicopter Emergency Medical Services (HEMS): Warwickshire & Northamptonshire Air Ambulance (WNAA) and Derbyshire, Leicestershire & Rutland Air Ambulance (DLRAA).

Each rescue mission that the Charity's HEMS teams carry out costs around £1,700.