PICKLED eggs and cake decorating don’t usually feature in a charity walk, but a fun-loving group of Amesbury fundraisers put their own spin on things to raise money for veterans’ mental health charity Combat Stress.

Led by Army veteran Dale Garner, 51, the 13-strong team walked 10 miles on March 29 to raise vital funds – but with a twist.

At each mile point a task was added to make the challenge even trickier, from eating pickled eggs off a fork blindfolded to walking with a creme egg between the knees.

The walk was part of Combat Stress’ annual fundraising event, March in March, where participants are tasked with completing 10 miles on any given day during the month.

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Now in its eighth year, the challenge has raised more than £1m for the charity in total, helping to provide specialist mental health treatment to veterans across the UK with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Dale, who was diagnosed with PTSD due to his experiences in the Army, was treated by Combat Stress in 2022.

He and his friends were driven to take part in March in March to give back to the charity that helped him. Their efforts saw them raise over £1,600.

Dale said: “We wanted to raise money for Combat Stress after they helped me get my life back, and March in March seemed a good way to do it.

“We wanted to have some fun while we were on the walk, so added in some unusual tasks.

“It was definitely interesting, and we’ll be talking about it for some time, but the main thing is that we have raised money so Combat Stress can be there to help more veterans who need their specialist treatment.”

At the finish line, the team were congratulated and presented with their March in March medals by Amesbury Mayor, councillor Alan Hagger.

Dale was also recently awarded Combat Stress’ Veteran Storyteller of the Year award for bravely sharing his story to raise awareness of the impact of military trauma.

Read more about his journey here: https://combatstress.org.uk/dales-story.

To find out more about Combat Stress’ March in March challenge visit marchinmarch.co.uk