Dedicated staff from Lochmaben-based Russell Roof Tiles factory are taking on a walking challenge with a difference, in a bid to raise £5,000 for charity.

Teams made up of 40 staff from its Scottish and English factories are creating their own version of the famous battle of Bannockburn – this time the challenge is to race to a central point on Hadrian’s Wall. The Wall was the north-west frontier of the Roman empire for nearly 300 years, and runs for a total of 73 miles.

On 6 and 7 October, a team from its Burton-on-Trent site will start at Wallsend (to the East), while the Lochmaben team will start at Bowness (to the West). Each tam will then race each other across the length of Hadrian's Wall in a bid to see who gets to the central point The Twice Brewed Inn first.

The aim is to raise much needed cash for Russells' nominated charities for this year - Dumfries & Galloway Blood Bikes (D&GBB) and Shropshire, Staffordshire & Cheshire Blood Bikes (SSBB). Last year, staff at the company raised an impressive £24,000 for these charities – local to each site – enabling each Blood Bikes charity to buy a much-needed new motorbike.

Both are volunteer-led charities – who rely purely on donations to run their service, providing lifesaving medical supplies across NHS foundations, with the transportation of vital blood products, organs for transplant and other life-critical supplies for the younger generation, such as premature babies. This is where every minute counts in helping seriously ill and injured patients.

Team Captains for the Scottish team are: Regional Sales Director, Alan Young; and Operations Director, Bruce Laidlaw. Captains of the English team from Burton are: Area Sales Manager, Michael Palmer; and Gary Gough, Finance Manager.

Alan commented: "This is a real challenge for our team – we're not seasoned walkers but we're all training hard to make sure we're successful and raise as much money as possible for these great causes. Of course, we'll also be pleased if we're the winning side - just like in the battle of Bannockburn!"

Over the past 18 months, RusseIls' fundraising activities have included a sponsored weight loss, twin peaks challenge, family fun day, charity dancing competition, football matches, and a charity golf day.

Anyone who wishes to donate can visit www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/rrt-hadrians-wall-challenge