REGULARS at a York pub put their best foot forward and walked through the night in atrocious conditions to raise money for youngsters in need.

Thanks to the Army coming to the rescue at the last moment, the party from the Beeswing pub, in Hull Road, braved rain and high winds to complete the 40-mile Lyke Wake Walk across the North York Moors in 18 hours, and reckoned every minute was worth it.

They were raising money for Riley Plant, the 18-month-old boy from Burnholme with a brain tumour, and also for the special care baby unit at York Hospital.

Pete Challis, 51, of Heworth said: “We couldn’t have picked a worse night of the year. It was an incredibly windy night, but it was at our backs.” He praised the back-up team from the Yorkshire Regiment and the pub who kept the party in hot drinks and food as they marched from Osmotherly to Ravenscar including quagmire conditions near the Lion Inn at Blakey Ridge.

The walk nearly faced disaster when hire arrangements for a minibus for the support party fell through at the last minute. But the Yorkshire Regiment provided a suitable bus, and Cpl Simon Jones volunteered to drive it.

“They were really, really good,” said Pete.

They scheduled the walk to start at 9.30pm to avoid having to cross the Moors at the hottest time of the day – not realising that this year would be one of the wettest on record. The pub stages a major fundraising challenge every year. Last year, regulars completed the Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge.