North Bersted team leaving office behind for tough Downs trek

Cameron Ltd workmates Steve Neal, Paul Abraham, Jason Ramsey and Marc Prickett completed the tough 100km walk in 23 hours and 39 mins.

They were one of just 287 teams of four to finish the course from the Queen Elizabeth Country Park near Petersfield to Brighton racecourse, via Lewes, out of 502 who entered.

Steve, Cameron's financial controller, said: "Being on our feet for all that time was harder than we thought.

"It was exhilarating when we finished. You forget about all your aches and pains for a split second because it's a real achievement to get all four of us over the finishing line. All of us want to do it again, even though we all suffered from blisters."

The Cameron team from the instrument maker for the oil and gas industries raised just more than 2,000 for Oxfam and the Ghurka Welfare Trust. The Gurkhas organised the Trailwalker event in aid of the charities.

Mr Neal (40) said the employees decided to enter for the challenge of taking on the South Downs. As a marathon runner, he was used to tackling long distances.

But the need for a large support crew of family members and to look out for the other team members was a new experience.

"It was not just a case of worrying about yourself," he added. "And the South Downs were hillier than we thought. It was rough terrain."