FOUR mums from a school near Tenbury are preparing to be pushed to the limits by a gruelling military exercise organised by a regiment of Ghurkas.

The parents at Abberley Hall School are aiming to walk 100km in 30 hours at the end of July as part of the annual ‘Oxfam Trailwalker’ charity event.

The hilly course covers an off-road route along the South Downs Way and totals ascents equivalent climbing Ben Nevis and Snowdon combined.

Victoria Beswick, who also works as marketing and development manager at Abberley Hall School, said that she and fellow team-members were looking forward to the challenge, which they hoped would raise over £1,000 in sponsorship for Oxfam and The Ghurka Welfare Trust.

“The Trailwalker is an awesome event and is often referred to as 'The Ultimate Ghurka Challenge' because it is so arduous,” said Victoria, who will be joined by Kate Berkeley, Hannah Hankin and Becca Detheridge.

“We have all been training but inevitably the event means walking through the night which is going to be tricky but we have a back-up crew.”

The walk starts on July 23 in the Queen Elizabeth Country Park in Hampshire and ends in Brighton the following day.

Its history dates back to 1981 when it was held along the mountainous Maclehose Trail in Hong Kong as a training exercise for the soldiers of the Queen's Gurkha Signals.