They have just completed the infamous Marathon Des Sables, dubbed 'the toughest footrace on earth'.

Mick, 58, from Fareham, and Martyn, 62, from Gosport, completed the amazing feat in aid of St Dunstan's, a national charity providing lifelong support and rehabilitation to blind ex-service men and women.

The race is a 150-mile, seven-day trek across the unforgiving Sahara Desert in temperatures reaching 122 degrees Fahrenheit (50°C) during the day, and plummeting to 28 degrees Fahrenheit (-2°C) by night.

Mick said: 'We trained for six months in order to be in peak physical fitness for the race.

'But nothing can prepare you for the conditions you face and the mental and physical exertion involved.

'It was the toughest thing I have ever done.' Martyn added: 'Camaraderie with the other competitors really kept us going, as well as knowing that we were raising money to help St Dunstan's.'

Following donations from family, friends and colleagues, Mick and Martyn presented a cheque for £13,626 to St Dunstan's president Ray Hazan.