Mud and mayhem in Â£100,000 fundraiser

The third Mud Pack Challenge was the best one yet, according to hundreds of participants.

Over 750 people took to the course at Ashridge House, ready to get muddy and tackle obstacles including filthy swamps, slides and skips full of cold, muddy water, in aid of the Hospice of St Francis.

Their collective effort is set to raise over £100,000.

Mother and son Hashmeera Patel and Kapish Pattni completed the course in memory of dad and granddad Ramnik, from Hemel Hempstead, raising over £450.

Hashmeera said: “I’ve never done anything like this before. I even cried on top of the slide – but I got down it!

“We’ll definitely do the event again, hopefully with more friends and family to show our support for the care the hospice team gave Dad.”

Roger’s Dodgers, consisting of Jack Doodson with teammates Dan Turbutt and Holly Worthington, took part in memory of Jack’s dad.

Jack said: “We had so much fun, the atmosphere was great and between us we’ve raised over £1,500 for the hospice to help people like my dad.”

Events manager Fran Martin said: “I want to say a big, big, thank you to all of our Mud Packers. We’re so grateful for everyone’s support – roll on the Mud Pack IV!”

The next hospice event is the annual Santa Dash on December 11 at Riverside Hemel. See www.stfrancis.org.uk/santadash