AS they crawled through mud just a few inches from cutting barbed wire tough mudders panted their way through the Winchester course.

Matterley Bowl drew people around from across the county and beyond over the weekend to see who was the toughest mudder of all of what has been described as Europe’s most gruelling course.

While some did it for charity others took part just to get their hands feet and even faces dirty as they scrambled over six foot walls, scaled a giant pyramid, and launched themselves into thick murky water before running across the fields of the South Downs.

A huge log matrix proved too difficult for some as they ducked and dived and climbed the grid. Adults of all ages jumped caverns dug deep into the ground before running downhill to a specially-made wooden climbing frame erected over a grubby-looking watery pit.

There were 26 obstacles scattered throughout the 12 mile course, which included cargo nets, hay bales, 15 foot drops into water, mud pits, freezing cold lakes and the quarter pipe.

Some of the more challenging ones were even named. There was the cliff hanger, the fire walker and even the boa constrictor, which saw people crawl through tiny pitch-black tunnels.