Ten Tors teams taken off Dartmoor

12 April 2012

Thousands of youngsters are being airlifted off Dartmoor after the Ten Tors Challenge was abandoned because of fears over swollen rivers.

With them were team mates of Charlotte Shaw, 14, from Edgehill College in Bideford, north Devon, who died after falling into a rain swollen stream on Dartmoor on March 4.

A total of 2,400 youngsters from across the UK had started the two day, Army-organised challenge on Saturday, during which they were due to negotiate ten tors.

The teams were set to tackle routes of 35, 45 or 55 miles and this year were allowed to carry one mobile phone for emergency use only. But the Army decided to call off the annual event at 9.30pm on Saturday due to "deteriorating weather conditions".

A statement said: "The weather forecast indicates that the rivers, which are already at their peak, will become increasingly swollen."

The decision was also influenced by Saturday's high drop-out rate of 15%, an Army spokesman said.

Around 200 youngsters have already been taken off the moor by two Royal Navy Sea King helicopters with the rest waiting in their tents or walking back. The helicopters carrying the teams were arriving back into Okehampton battle camp at regular intervals and all the youngsters were expected to be off the moor by mid afternoon.

Army spokesman David Hamilton said more than 700 personnel, including military and the Dartmoor Rescue Group, were involved in the weekend's activities and the recovery of the teams.

Rosy Greenaway and Jenna Drew, both 17 and from Okehampton, were on the same team completing the 55 mile route when they were airlifted back to camp.

Jenna said: "I'm really, really devastated. We really wanted to finish. I think we could have done it if we had been allowed to go on. Obviously the safety of everyone is their main priority."

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