Firewalkers raise £7,500 for charity

Thirty-two fundraisers walked barefoot over burning embers in Gloucester Green on Saturday.

The event, organised by Fox FM and Macmillan Cancer Support, raised about £7,500.

Hundreds of people watched as Steve Rance of Witney, dressed as action hero Indiana Jones, became the first to tackle the challenge.

As he stepped off the six-metre strip of burning wood, he said: "It was exhilarating. You can feel it's hot but you think 'No, it isn't'. It's empowering.

"You think of yourself as a hero as you cross and you ignore everything else."

Mr Rance, from Deer Park, who has also done bungee jumps and a skydive, said firewalking had been his biggest challenge yet.

The 47-year-old, who raised about £500, said: "You have to 'psych' yourself up much more with this."

Mr Rance said the cause was close to his heart as his late father had been helped by a Macmillan nurse towards the end of his life.

Mr Rance's girlfriend Nikki Booth, 38, of Eynsham, said: "It's the kind of thing Steve does all the time - I am very proud."

Fellow participant Anthony Simpson, 34, an IT manager from Kidlington, said: "It was a really strange experience. My feet actually felt warm towards the end because I kicked the embers up.

"I got a push halfway and they said they did that if you were not walking fast enough."

Fox FM presenter Luke Wilkins, who also joined the walk, said: "That was amazing. I have never been as 'pumped'.

"I felt like I was walking on ice, not fire - but I could smell the burning."

Macmillan nurse Stuart Oliver, 36, who works at Oxford's Sobell House hospice, said: "It was fun. I didn't notice the heat at all."

Macmillan's fundraising manager Michelle Johnson said the proceeds would be split between her organisation and Fox FM's Help an Oxfordshire Child.

She said: "It's very much a personal motivational challenge. It's all about mind over matter."

Firefighters from Oxford were also on standby at the event - but were not needed.