FOOTSORE but triumphant, soldiers from Corsham travelled home yesterday after completing a marathon coast-to-coast telegraph pole carrying challenge.

The 24 soldiers from Lima Troop, the 10th Signal Regiment, based in Corsham, carried two telegraph poles, nicknamed Itchy and Scratchy, from Bees Head in Cumbria to Robin Hood's Bay on the east coast.

Lance Corporal Brian Clarke said: "We got sore shoulders and sore feet, but the guys overcame it."

He estimated they collected some £800 on the route and hoped to get between £4,000 and £5,000 for the NSPCC.

He said the trek had been something of an ordeal over difficult terrain and there had been days of miserable weather with wind, rain and snow.

"It was extremely difficult scrambling up and down mountainsides trying to heave the poles up and down," he said.

They covered between 14 and 20 miles a day and carried the logs in relay teams, two people carrying each log, while others carried food and supplies.

Army contractors Auriga (Europe), Tyco Electronics and 3M sponsored the trek.

But the soldiers of Lima Troop were not the only ones taking up a challenge.

Three members of the 21st Signals Regiment (Air Support), based at Hullavington, near Chippenham, are also testing their endurance to the limits.

They are competing in one of the world's toughest foot races, the Marathon des Sables, or Marathon of the Sands, in South Morocco.

Long distance runners Captain Tom Day, Staff Sergeant Mark Morgan and Sergeant Sean McIlroy from Hullavington are braving the extreme temperatures and gruelling conditions of the Sahara desert.

The lads are covering a total distance of 144 miles, across sand, stones, mountains, dried lakes, river beds and dunes.

They will be competing with six hundred other competitors from more than 150 countries.

Before they left, Capt Day said: "We are competing in the race in order to raise funds for the Army Benevolent Fund.

"Our sponsors ADT, who are the UK's leading fire and security company, are meeting the cost of flights, transfers, accommodation, medical back-up, water, which all adds up to over £6,000."