Soldiers from Beachley barracks have travelled over a thousand miles to raise money for a veterans charity.

Corporal Okumu of the first battalion of The Rifles (1 Rifles) last week rallied his colleagues to run, row or cycle a total of 1,429.1 miles to raise money for Care for Casualties.

The journey started last Wednesday at 9am and was completed at 6pm.

The journey was done on treadmills, rowing machines and exercise bikes outside of Tesco in Chepstow.

The distance, 1,429.1 miles, is the total distance to all of the barracks of all The Rifles’ battalions.

Those at the fundraiser weren’t the only ones participating. Members of the battalion who are currently deployed in Afghanistan are also clocking up the miles to help reach the target.

One of the participants, Warrant Officer Taylor said: "We’re getting a good bit of money in, a lot of people are putting in notes as well as coins."

"It’s also a good excuse to get out of the office!"

Care for Casualties is an organisation which raises money to assist British servicemen and women from The Rifles who have been wounded or injured during their service, as well as helping their families.

It was started in 2009 by The Rifles themselves when they saw first hand the necessity in caring for those who had been injured in the extended military campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Since the formation of The Rifles in 2007, they have continued their commitment to service personnel of both Afghanistan and Iraq, with over 60 riflemen killed, and over 300 injured in that time.

At the Care for Casualties launch, Major General Rupert Jones, one of the founders said: "This week I will bury three of my riflemen, men too young to die. Only yesterday I sat with one of my young riflemen who lost both legs and an arm. His focus is not on what he has lost but what he has."

1 Rifles is a Regular Infantry Battalion based in Beachley Barracks, near Chepstow in Gloucestershire. The Battalion consists of around 550 Riflemen who deploy from their base location on training and operations worldwide. They are trained to deploy worldwide at short notice with light equipment, into terrain ranging from mountains to jungle, demanding fit and agile riflemen.

1 Rifles has been deployed on three tours to Iraq and Afghanistan, together with many other operations and training missions worldwide.