Three unflagging firemen have completed a gruelling challenge which has raised more than £1,000 for the charity Help for Heroes.

James Bull, 37, from Bunyan Road, Hitchin, was one of the trio who ran 100km across the Brecon Beacons, taking in an incredible 11 peaks on the way including 5000m of ascent – while remaining completely self-sufficient by carrying all their own supplies.

Watch commander James, a former Hitchin Boys’ School pupil, said: “My colleagues Lee Crake from Stevenage, Billy McGill from Stotfold, and myself are all veterans of numerous marathons, ultra 100km marathons, and other endurance events. We’ve all served together over the years and been through some tough experiences.

“We set off at 4.30am with head torches expecting it to take 24 hours. But we romped home in 12 hours as we stuck rigidly to a punishing pace and each man came in exhausted but elated.

“Our motivation through the pain was in knowing generous donations from family, friends and colleagues saw us raise more than £1,000 for Help for Heroes by the end of the trip.

“We’d also like to give special thanks to Andy Marshallsay who filled the role of support driver – without him the challenge wouldn’t have been possible.

“Myself and Lee now have a couple of weeks recovery time.”