A team from the Exeter area won a gruelling two-day challenge event staged in aid of the Cornwall-based charity ShelterBox.

The ShelterBox Challenge took place on Dartmoor over the weekend (April 14-15) with 25 teams tackling a 30-mile course - while carrying a ShelterBox containing all the equipment needed for an overnight camp on the moor.

The event attracted teams from across the South West, plus entries from as far afield as Derbyshire, and North Yorkshire. The Dartmoor Rescue Group also provided valuable support.

Starting from Princetown on Saturday morning, the first challenge for the teams was to work out ways of carrying their box and the 35kg of equipment it contained for the event.

The teams then spent a long hot day navigating between various checkpoints to reach an overnight camp near the village of Sheepstor. Sunday morning dawned fine but the weather closed in and the problems for the teams soon turned to rain and thick mist rather than dehydration!

In the end, it was Team 15, led by Steve Fordham from Exeter, who reached the finish line in first place with a time of 9hrs 23mins and 28secs - following an almost neck-and-neck battle with the Helston-based Tops team who finished with a time of 9hrs 39mins and 42secs.

Huw Thomas from ShelterBox said: "I want to take my hat off not just to the winners but to everyone that tackled this event. It was always intended to be a tough challenge and that's what it proved.

"Some of the teams really struggled to complete the course but, particularly for those who had to battle exhaustion and blisters, it was really impressive to see their determination and spirit."

ShelterBox are currently supplying aid to victims of the tsunami that struck the Solomon Islands and have also responded over the past six months to natural disasters in Bolivia, Kenya, Papua New Guinea and the Philippines.

Mr Thomas said: "Hopefully the teams will have got a lot out of completing the challenge - as well as a few aches and pains! However the event has also been a major achievement in terms of raising awareness of who ShelterBox are and vital funds that will enable us to help more people as and when we are called on next."