The Long Walk to Work

When colleagues of Excalibur's Technical Director Graham Ford heard he was planning to trek from his home in the Welsh town of Croesyceiliog to the company's Headquarters in Swindon as part of the UK's "National Walk to Work Day", they decided to keep him company, and ended up raising more than £2,000 for Wiltshire Air Ambulance.

Braving unexpectedly high temperatures to set off on a Friday, an initial group which included colleagues Darren Harper, Mike Hayden and Tony Jones, was gradually joined by more and more Excalibur colleagues as they drew nearer to the company's offices in Peatmoor, Swindon - with everyone arriving in on time on Monday.

Graham Ford said: "The air ambulance is such a great charity supporting so many people in Wiltshire and surrounding counties. I hope the money we raised will go some way to saving further lives in the future. I am very grateful to my work colleagues Darren, Tony and Mike for joining me along the entire route. Their support over the weekend was fantastic."

Valerie Whistler, Partnerships Coordinator for Wiltshire Air Ambulance, added: "We are so grateful to these amazing employees from Excalibur Communications who overcame scorching heat, sore muscles and several blisters to achieve something not many would as part of their commitment to our 100 Club Airbase Appeal.

"Their support is helping us get closer and closer to securing our future by raising the funds we need to complete and equip our custom-built new airbase at Semington, near Melksham in Wiltshire. We need to raise £1.25 million to make our new airbase a reality, so if other businesses would like to get involved by joining the 100 Club, please get in touch with us by calling the Charity Team on +44 (0)1380 739453".

Between them, the Excalibur team clocked up 477 miles and are set to continue with their fund-raising until a target of £10,000 is reached.