Sixty-five brave people hot-footed it across a bed of burning coals to raise money for St Wilfrid’s.

The Fire Walk challenge has already raised around £20,000, with money still coming in.

Spectators were kept entertained by fire dancer, Xena Flame, who wowed the crowds with her moves, throwing and spinning LED hula-hoops and red-hot flames, before the brave participants psyched themselves up to the beat of Stix Drummers.

Angie Panteli is a Complementary Therapist at St Wilfrid’s and decided to brave the hot coals just one week before the event, raising more than £1,000. “I was excited about doing it for the hospice and didn’t feel apprehensive,” Angie said. “But when we had the mandatory motivational talk by the organisers beforehand, I did get a little nervous.

“We walked out to the drummers, which helped gear us all up, and then saw the flames burning high and felt the heat, even though we were standing away from the area. The fire dancer also added to the atmosphere and lots of people came to watch.

“When it was time to do the Fire Walk, I decided to just go for it and not hang about and think about it too much. I didn’t feel the heat as much as you would think, I was just elated to do it. My soles felt slightly tender for a day after, but I would do it again. I am so grateful to everyone who sponsored me,” Angie said.

Our Events Manager, Beth Hillier, said: “The Fire Walk is such an exciting challenge. There was a great atmosphere and to see how elated people were when they’d done it was just wonderful – an experience they’ll never forget. Thank you to Blind Design for sponsoring the event, our volunteers, Stix Drummers and everyone who took part or came along to support, it all helped to raise much-needed funds for the hospice.”

Picture captions: The Fire Walk was our hottest event of the year

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