Meet the blazing squad who walked across coals for charity

Participants received an hour’s expert training before the event took place at the Exhibition Inn to raise money for Marie Curie Cancer Care.

Nicola Wheeler, events manager, said: “My daughter and I did it twice! The training taught you how to put your mind into the right place – if you believe you can do it, you will.

“The heat coming off it was horrendous. It started off at 900 degrees and at the end it was 1,300 degrees.

“You can’t stop, you just have to keep going, but because there were so many people supporting and cheering it spurred you on.

"Everyone that did it was so pleased they took part.”

The fire walk took place in the car park, and there was a raffle and live music from Southend based duo Femme Fatale at the pub afterwards.

Nicola said: “The place was packed. It was a fantastic night, and there were lots of people supporting.

“It’s nice to do things like this in Great Wakering , because we’re only a little village, so it brings people together. We always try and do something different, like an outdoor concert with live music, instead of your usual quiz nights.

“Last year we did a bungee jump – I’m starting to run out of ideas that are safe!”

The youngest fire-walker was Nicola’s 15-year-old daughter, and the oldest was the landlord of the pub, aged 65.