THE weather may have been against them but intrepid fundraisers the Didcot Thong Rangers were celebrating yesterday after completing a mammoth feat of endurance.

The prospect of carrying a 85lb kerbstone a few yards would be enough to put off most people.

But to raise funds for the Support for the Sick Newborn And their Parents charity, which supports the neonatal intensive care unit at Oxford’s John Radcliffe Hospital, a team of 10 men took it in turns to run across the Marlborough Club car park carrying the hefty stone for 24 hours — clad only in their underwear.

The group split into three teams so each ended up carrying the weight once every 70 to 80 seconds, raising more than £2,000 for the hospital.

Organiser Clifford Oakes, 47, from Kynaston Road, pictured right, said: “We absolutely annihilated the challenge. I’m filled with joy because we completed it.

“There were times it started to get to us and for the first two hours, it was absolutely hammering it down.” They started the challenge at midday on Saturday and finished 24 hours later at midday yesterday.

Picture: Jon Lewis