A GROUP of present day soldiers pedalled, sweated and jogged their way through 10 hours of physical workout to help raise money for some of the veterans of the Second World War.

The soldiers, clerks from the Adjutant General Corps, and cooks from the Royal Logistic Corps are all attached to 6 Battalion REME and were put through their paces at the Tidworth Oval.

The event was called Arnhem or Bust and involved running, cycling and rowing the distance from the Second World War fighter base at Biggin Hill to the famous parachute battle site at Arnhem.

Part of the exercise involved each participant running 70 laps of the Oval - a distance of more than 17 miles.

The money raised will be split evenly between the Chelsea Pensioners and The Chindit Old Comrades Association.

"We managed to raise £400 by collection for about an hour and a half at the entrance to the camp and eventually hope to raise £1,000 so that we can send off £500 to each," said Staff Sgt Jeff Lewis, one of the clerks.

"We selected the start and finish point after we looked at what it would be possible for a team of four to achieve in about 10 hours.

"Training started back in January and we have been using the excellent facilities at the Tidworth Leisure Centre."

Each relay team member undertook the activities working simultaneously, otherside the event would have lasted 40 hours.

In the chefs' team were S Sgt John Galletly, Sgt Roger Hart, Sgt Derek Smith and Lance Corp Phil Headington.

In the clerks' team were S Sgt Jeff Lewis, Sgt Rob Townsend, Sgt Michelle Plank and Lance Corp Roger Clerice.