A firefighter from a station near Sandbach has recorded Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service's fastest time in a competition attracting worldwide entries.

A hundred firefighters took part in the Cheshire Firefighter Challenge and more than £1,200 has been raised for The Fire Fighters Charity.

Due to restrictions caused by Covid-19 pandemic, the fundraising event had to be held virtually for the second year running.

Publicity generated for the event via Facebook led to firefighters entering from all over England and five other countries – Germany, Austria, Belgium and, for the first time, New Zealand and America.

They all filmed themselves completing two timed runs, and for the third year running Simon Calvert, an on-call firefighter at Middlewich Fire Station, recorded Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service's fastest time.

The service's fastest woman was Warrington Fire Station firefighter Abi Van-Loon.

The overall winner was Aaron Childs, a firefighter at Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service.

The challenge consisted of:

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• A 200-metre shuttle run (four 50m runs)
• A 20m hose reel drag
• A 20m hose reel pull
• A foam drum carry (carrying four 25 kilograms foam drums for 10m)
• Rolling out a full length of 25m 70 millimetre Duraline hose
• Making up the same length 25m 70mm Duraline hose
• A 50m Duraline 70mm hose run
• A 50m 70kg casualty drag.

The firefighters had to complete the course in full firefighting kit whilst wearing breathing apparatus.

Over the course of the event, competitors moved the equivalent of 10,000 litres of foam for more than two kilometres, dragged the equivalent of seven tonnes of casualties for 5km, ran out and made up over 12km of delivery hose and racked up more than 25 hours of activity and footage.