GO APE staff at Moors Valley Country Park went bananas to support Teenage Cancer Trust, helping raise £60,000 for the charity.

Go Ape is the UK’s leading forest adventure and staff from its 28 sites across the country devised the Big Banana Relay to raise vital funds for the charity.

The relay consisted of a big banana being transported a total 1,823 miles across the UK.

The Moors Valley team took the giant inflatable banana on a jet skiing adventure to reach its destination near Exeter, riding on a jet ski through Poole Harbour, past Sandbanks and Swanage along to Lulworth Cove. From Lulworth, the banana was carried on foot in an epic 36 hour night hike covering 82 miles of the South West Coastal Path to Exmouth, where it was handed over to the Haldon Forest team at the mouth of the River Exe.

Co-founder and director of Go Ape Rebecca Mayhew said: “We are proud to support Teenage Cancer Trust and delighted that our Go Ape Team has managed to raise £60,000 for such an important cause. “The #BigBananaRelay managed to travel an impressive total of 1,823 miles around our Go Ape locations in the UK.

“It’s been amazing to see all the different modes of travel used for each leg of the journey and it's great that the Go Ape tribe have completed this epic task for such an important charity.”

Director of fundraising at Teenage Cancer Trust Kate Collins said: “We want to say a huge thank you to staff at Go Ape for their incredible fundraising efforts and all the amazing creativity involved in the Big Banana Relay.

“We rely on donations to fund our vital work and the money raised will help support young people with cancer and their families locally and across the UK.”

Teenage Cancer Trust has been selected by Go Ape staff as its main charity for 2014. Go Ape was raising funds to help build more Teenage Cancer Trust units in NHS hospitals, maintain existing ones, fund specialist nursing and youth support staff and support the free cancer awareness sessions that are delivered in schools, colleges and universities across the UK.