SOME people scale mountains for charity, others run marathons and a few hardy fundraisers trek the Inca Trail or the Great Wall of China.

But two intrepid explorers from Farley have really taken fundraising in their stride with what must surely be the world’s shortest sponsored walk.

On Friday lunchtime, Richard Fox, 49, and Jamie Latham, 69, set off from Mr Fox’s home in The Street in the village centre.

Minutes later they arrived at the Hook and Glove pub having successfully walked an incredible 200 yards.

What’s even more impressive is that this epic endeavour raised £6,500 for the village church’s roof repair fund.

The money will also buy a ladder so the church clock can be mended and safely wound every week.

“The clock hasn’t been working for the last 18 months and health and safety considerations mean it has been impossible to reach it,”

said Mr Fox.

“It has been a long-held ambition to get it working again and at the village fete recently we launched this idea to raise funds.

“It’s not about the distance we covered obviously, it’s about people coming together and donating money for the good of their local community.

“Jamie was particularly good at the fundraising and everyone who donated should be very proud because it was their achievement and not ours.”

Several villagers gave the energetic pair a whopping £200 – a pound for every yard they covered.

Others went to cheer them on as they hiked through the village before arriving, tired and weary, at the pub for a wellearned pint.

“It was very thirsty work,”

joked Mr Fox, who works as an engineer. “We were gasping by the end of it – the walk was exhausting!

Team rector Nils Bersweden, whose parish includes All Saints Church in Farley, is delighted with the duo’s fundraising efforts.

“We couldn’t be happier with how it went,” added Mr Fox.

“It might seem like a token effort but it did the trick and raised a lot of money.

“And although we had to pace ourselves and take it easy over the whole 200 yards, we got there in the end.”

“It was tough but somehow we made it through.”