Pulling a fire engine through the streets of St Neots was all in an afternoon’s work for keen fundraisers.

Five teams of 10 people strapped in and set off from the start line at Wyboston Lakes on Sunday (May 4), hauling a fire truck around the four-mile course to the Cambridgeshire Hunter in Berkley Street, Eynesbury.

After two hours and 20 minutes of the gruelling challenge, the teams descended on the pub for an auction with items including signed photos of Roger Federer and Manchester United players Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie. The auction alone raised more than £4,000 towards their staggering £12,000 total so far.

It is the ninth year of the charity event which goes towards funding camps for young burns survivors at Grafham Water.

Dave Webster, who organised the event alongside Steve Wills, said: “It is overwhelming really when you consider where we started nine years ago with a much smaller event. Now people are asking when it’s coming up - it’s a town event.

“It was a lot of hard work but well worth it and a fantastic amount of money raised – let’s beat that next year.”