THE heatwave didn’t stand in the way of a group of friends from Warminster who were determined to complete their fourth annual endurance walk for charity, despite the event being cancelled due to the extreme heat.

Five Warminster men, Thomas Minter, Charlie Duff, Nigel Hindle, Mark Pitman and Robin Wallace, known as the Trailwalker Pirates, decided to plan their own 56-mile route after being told the event they were supposed to be taking part in, The Gurkha Trailwalker, was cancelled 72 hours before the walk was due to start.

After having raised almost £1,000 for the Gurkha Welfare Trust, a charity which provides support to Gurkha veterans and their families, they were determined to complete the challenge.

Team leader Thomas Minter said: “We had been training in the area for about four months and our support crew were ready. We did not want to let our sponsors down and wanted to beat last year’s time of 62 miles in 23 hours.

“Spirits were high and we were determined to beat the heat.”

The group’s route took them through the Wylye, Nadder and Ebble valleys, and through Salisbury.

Team member Robin Wallace said: “It was only about four years ago when we were 50 that we all got into walking.

“It was Charlie who started it off and we all joined him.

“We train with long walks, but the longest training walk was 31 miles, so nowhere near what we walked on the day.”

Despite not beating last year’s record, the group walked an impressive 56 miles in nine and a half hours. To donate, visit www.justgiving.com/fundraising/countryslickers18