RECORD-holding school pupil Darcey Curran helped to raise £500 for Exmoor Search and Rescue (ESR) after completing her toughest challenge so far.

Darcey, aged 11, a pupil of Minehead Middle School, took part in the Channel UK Events community canal run along the Bridgwater and Taunton Canal with parents Mark and Jack.

She ran 7.5 miles of the tow path with mum Jack, while dad Mark ran the full 14 miles, also the longest he had run.

Mark said it was a ‘huge challenge’ for Darcey, who holds the record as the youngest person to complete the 30-mile Exmoor Perambulation walk when she was aged nine years.

He said: “This is a monumental challenge for me.

“I have only been running for the last couple of years and I have reached 60 and so far I have not even run 10 miles, let alone 14.

“Both of us are raising money for the Exmoor Search and Rescue team, who are an amazing group of volunteers and totally funded by donation.

“It would not matter if it was a blizzard, steaming hot, howling rain, they would still go out and help you.

“All their funding comes from donations, so every penny counts.”

An ESR spokesperson said: “We assist the police in locating lost or missing persons, and the ambulance service to recover the injured or ill from remote locations.

“We are skilled and equipped for search, including dogs and drones, pre-hospital medical care, technical rope and water rescue, available every day or night.”