Crawley security firm raise money for Sussex air ambulance

Chris Malden and his friends started before sunrise at Redhill Aerodrome, walking 31 miles in just over 11 hours to make it to Brighton Pier.

He said: “The first 20 miles wasn’t too bad, but the last five miles was the toughest certainly.

“Safe to say, I am suffering. My knee took a bit of a battering. All six of us suffered from blisters!”

The walking challenge took about 11 hours

The team’s route started on Easter Sunday at Redhill Aerodrome, where Kent, Surrey and Sussex Air Ambulance Service’s aircraft are based.

They then went through Horley, Crawley, Balcombe, Cuckfield, Burgess Hill, Hassocks, Pyecombe and eventually Brighton.

• READ MORE: Air Ambulance in Sussex still needs funds to survive crisis

Mr Malden also explained his personal reasons for doing the charity walk after losing a friend and colleague who was helped by the Air Ambulance Service.

He said: “We do quite a lot of charity stuff for the air ambulance service because my mate and colleague who used to work for us passed away a couple of years back. The Air Ambulance service played a vital part in his attempted recovery.

“That’s my reasons for it, most of the team have their own reasons as well.”

The team from Prestige Security took part in the fundraising challenge

Air Ambulance Kent, Surrey and Sussex are a charity which is funded by the Air Ambulance Trust.

Mr Malden added: “As a company, we do a lot for them, but it was more so to get them the exposure that they need.”

For more information on the work of the Kent, Surrey and Sussex Air Ambulance Service, please visit: https://www.aakss.org.uk