A HUGE fundraising challenge to pass a rugby ball for 200 miles around Pocklington saw players young and old swing into action.

The under-12s of Pocklington Rugby Club got the ball rolling on Saturday morning when they passed a ball up and down the line at the club’s Percy Road pitch.

Senior club members then took up the challenge by standing in key locations around the town, passing a number of balls to each other and clocking up an average of one mile per minute.

The ball was eventually returned to the clubhouse and the hands of 21-year-old Lance Corporal Joe Campbell, who has been playing for Pocklington but is due to return to Afghanistan in October.

Tim Ward, the event organiser and under-eights coach, said: “We have been fundraising all year for the club refurbishment and, like most organisations, we have to think of something original rather than just shaking a tin.”

The money raised from the weekend’s challenge will be going to the Help For Heroes charity and Pocklington Rugby Forward.

Mr Ward said: “Help For Heroes was a natural selection. We didn’t just want to raise funds for rugby and it had to be something that all the club could take part in.”

The league-winning side played their last home game of the season on Saturday, and the final few miles of the ball-passing challenge were due to be reached yesterday afternoon back at the club.

The challenge of passing for 200 miles was chosen to represent the distance between Pocklington and Twickenham Stadium in London, the home of English rugby.