AN adventure firm based near York has taken its unwanted race equipment and turned it into a brand new playground for children in India.

The charity project, just completed, is the brainchild of Rat Race Adventure Sports, headquartered in Shipton-by-Beningbrough, which runs outdoor events across the world.

Back in 2016, the firm's staff hosted a race in Brisbane, Australia, and found themselves with £25,000 worth of leftover gear, held in shipping containers.

Rather than see it go to waste, they shipped the gear, which included cargo nets, scaffolding and tyres, to Malur, Karnakata Province.

A team, which included members from Rat Race, and plant, tools and equipment hire firm GAP Group, travelled from Britain to India to construct the park themselves.

Jim Mee, founder of Rat Race and who was one of those who spent a week in India working in the hot sun, says he is delighted with the results.

Jim said: “A couple of years ago we ran a series of obstacle events in Australia. And when the series ended, we were left with a container full of incredible obstacles, but which were stuck on the other side of the world.

“It seemed a waste to scrap the gear and dispose of it in an un-environmentally sound way, so we set to work on finding a new use for it.

“It was tough work constructing the playground. But we rounded-up an incredible team to help with the build and we’re proud of the results.

“Most importantly, the local kids seem to love it too!”

The container of obstacles set sail from Brisbane for Mumbai in July 2018.

The whole project represents a £50,000 investment from Rat Race and GAP, who also partnered with the charities 'Playground Ideas' and ‘Headstreams', who helped to choose the location for the project.

It is not the first time Rat Race has lent its support to children in need.

Rat Race participants are encouraged to raise sponsorship money for their partner charity ‘Children with Cancer UK’, and if they hit a certain target, they are given free entry to its domestic events.

Meanwhile a portion of the entry fee from other racers also automatically goes to Children with Cancer UK, too.

In February last year Rat Race announced they had raised £1,000,000 for the charity, having first set that goal in 2015.

Meanwhile, the playground project caps a year of globe-trotting and excitement for Jim and the Rat Race team, whose roster of events include everything from ultra-marathons to multi-sport, multi-day journeys across some of the world’s wildest spaces.

Jim - and a team of Rat Race ‘test pilots’ - recently performed a series of ‘recce’ trips ahead of new events being launched to the general public.