TWO colleagues from West Devon are getting ready to go commando for charity as they gear up to take part in the Commando Challenge 10K event.

Anna Bury and Alicia Chichester, members of the marketing team at Eversfield Organic in Bratton Clovelly, will form part of a team alongside 12 soon-to-be Royal Marines officers to help 27 year old Rachel Hall around the course in a specially built Sedan chair. Rachel has recently received a powered wheelchair, named ‘Ernie’ which has been funded by The Royal Marines Charitable Trust Fund.

Rachel, whose father is a major in the Royal Marines, was severely injured in a road accident in January 2011. Over the past four years she has made a miraculous recovery from life threatening injuries. While she remains paralysed from the chest down and also has a slow recovering brain injury, she is determined to help others and to give something back to the charity which is helping her to increase her independence.

Anna, from Bratton Clovelly and Alicia from Tavistock will take part in the The Commando Challenge 10K on Sunday October 11, as part of a team also including carers, friends and family members. They will all be helping to carry Rachel around four kilometres of the course before she then tries to outpace the team for the remaining six kilometres on South Devon’s country lanes in her chair. The course is the same training route used daily by the UK’s Royal Marines, making it one of the toughest events in the charity’s events calendar.

Anna said: ‘This is a personal cause for us as I have known Rachel since school. Both Alicia and I have loved ones in the Royal Marines and the business is committed to supporting local charities that benefit people, not only here in the South West but farther afield too.

‘The Royal Marines Charitable Trust Fund does an amazing job of helping wounded and injured people to maintain a good quality of life, throughout their life so we are looking forward to joining Rachel and the team in what will be an exhausting but rewarding challenge.’

l To sponsor Anna and Alicia please visit www.justgiving.com/GettingRachelMuddy