Sunshine greets NHS staff raising thousands in 'Walk for Wards'

• Video report by Andy Dickenson

More than a hundred NHS staff, supporters and family have taken part in a fun run in Sussex.

It was the first Walk for Wards event since the pandemic - with four different NHS charities benefiting.

Runners and walkers attempted five and ten kilometre routes around the Glynde Place estate near Lewes.

"Obviously, NHS services have been under pressure like we've never seen before. But at the same time, I think our staff have really risen to the challenge," Rachael Duke' from Walk for Wards, said.

"But alongside that, patients and carers have also done huge amounts of things to take care of themselves at home as well.

"And what's really nice I always think about this event is actually it brings us together as one group of people and sharing that support and love for the NHS."

For many this represented a return to normal - this the seventh Walk for Wards event. Mental health nurses like Rosie Drage are still feeling the after-effects of the years it could not be held.

"We're used to things being busy," she said. "But things have definitely just ramped up more. More people are getting mentally unwell, more people are feeling the impacts of all the things that are going on in the world.

"More people are needing support. So yes, we're busier than ever. And things are tighter than ever in terms of kind of vacancies and nursing shortages and things like that as well."

The event raised more than £10,000.