Axminster firefighters trek 160 miles to help colleague's son with Cerebral Palsy

  • Watch Richard Lawrence's report

A group of Devon firefighters have walked 160 miles to raise money for their colleague's son.

Crew members from Axminster Fire Station have taken on the four day challenge to walk from one end of Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue's patch to the other.

The epic walk is for the son of crew member Josh Moore. His two-year-old son, Idris, has Cerebral Palsy with Spastic Diplegia and cannot walk unaided.

Little Idris needs specialist equipment and additional physiotherapy sessions to help with walk.

The hope is that one day, Idris will be able to walk all by himself.

More than £6,000 has been raised so far.

To help Idris' family pay for his care, the group set a route from Camels Head Fire Station in Plymouth and finishing at Frome Fire Station.

They covered 24 neighbouring stations along the way, all while carrying firefighting gear and a breathing apparatus set.

More than £6,000 has been raised so far on what has been a heartwarming experience for Idris' family.

His mother, Sammy, said: "It's amazing to see how many people have pulled together for us. It's emotional."

The group's route from Plymouth to Frome. Credit: Axminster Fire Station

Retired firefighter Mel Sawdy joined the group for 26 miles of the route. He said: "It was a challenge, I wouldn't have missed for the world.

"It takes a bunch of people in the right frame of mind and they can do anything."

Both Sammy and Josh said they were very emotional at the sight of people supporting their wonderful son.

Idris smiled and clapped as the firefighters passed by, not quite knowing what to make of all the fuss but was very happy to be surrounded by friends.