Children step up to back Trailtrekker

The town of Skipton is gearing up for Oxfam's huge sponsored walk, when nearly 600 intrepid participants will undertake a non-stop 100km trek through the stunning Yorkshire Dales.

The event starts and finishes at Aireville School in Skipton, where pupils and teachers have been getting involved in the preparations since late last year.

Having already designed a series of posters to advertise the event, around 100 Year Eight youngsters and teachers yesterday each walked one kilometre on a specially-mapped out course through the school grounds, in their own version of the 100km Trailtrekker event

The school expects to raise at least 500 for Oxfam in sponsorship.

The Trailtrekker walk begins on Saturday at 7am at the Skipton school. Around 140 teams of four will embark on an epic non-stop 62-mile trek of the Yorkshire Dales. Teams are expected to start arriving back in Skipton the following morning, with the route taking up to 30 hours.

Oxfam are still looking for volunteers to help out. For details of how to register as a volunteer, visit www.oxfam.org.uk/trailtrekker