Soldiers from the Royal Logistics Corps in Didcot completed a 100-mile charity walk to raise money for a colleague’s family — and did so in full 46kg bomb disposal kit in the heat of the desert in Basra, Iraq.

Members of 821 Explosive Ordnance Disposal Squadron tackled the one-mile course to cumulatively achieve the 100-mile target.

The money raised will go to the family of Warrant Officer Gary O’Donnell from Edinburgh, killed while on operations on September 10. WO O’Donnell had been in the army 17 years and in 2006 was awarded the George Medal for bravery.

A spokesman for the army said: “This was a very personal gesture by a tight-knit unit.”