MORE than a dozen brave souls walked on fire to raise more than £5,000 for Leuchie House, near North Berwick.

The red-hot fundraiser saw participants experience temperatures of 1,200F – four times hotter than the temperature at which skin burns – last Friday night.

Each of the participants had to raise at least £180 to take part in the event, which was organised by firewalking experts Blaze, who hosted a training session to prepare the fundraisers for the challenge.

The two-hour session was taken by Karen Sterling, who told the firewalkers about her career change from nursing to firewalking some two decades ago, before ensuring the 18 fundraisers were in the right frame of mind to take the walk over the burning embers.

By 9pm, two hours after they had arrived at the picturesque Leuchie House, everybody was raring to go.

One of those who braved the heat was Jo Yates, Leuchie House’s bookings and marketing officer.

She said: “It was an exhilarating experience. Once you get the adrenaline going and get walking, it’s incredibly empowering.

“And I’m so pleased to have been able to raise money for Leuchie while trying something completely different!” Leuchie House is the only place in Scotland and the north of England offering quality respite breaks with 24-hour expert nursing care.

It relies on supporters and fundraisers to provide this service for people and their families living with conditions such as Multiple Sclerosis, stroke, Huntington’s Disease, Parkinson’s, Motor Neurone Disease and cerebral palsy.

Also taking part were Courier reporters Gavin Harper and Cameron Ritchie.

Gavin, who joined the Courier in May, was delighted to have taken part.

“I wasn’t sure about it all to begin with, but once Karen [Sterling] had taken us through the training, I couldn’t wait to get out there,” he said.

“It was a great experience and something I’m really glad to have done.

“The only downside was that it was all over within a matter of seconds, but it was for a good cause.” Meanwhile, senior reporter Cameron felt it was something he had always wanted to do but never had the chance.

He said: “A lot of people might have thought of the training as mumbo-jumbo but I found it really inspiring.

“You felt like you could do anything, like run through a wall or walk on fire.

“It’s just a shame it was over so quickly.” And the Courier pair were keen to see colleagues follow in their footsteps, after they took on the mantle from former reporter Joel Sked, who took on the challenge last year.

Cameron added: “It was great to help such a worthy cause – we will just have to make sure other Courier staff do it next year!” Mairi O’Keefe, CEO at Leuchie, was delighted with the event’s success.

She said after the firewalk: “I can’t believe what people are willing to do in the name of Leuchie!

“We are so grateful to everyone who took part in the firewalk challenge.

“It was a great night and a great fundraising effort by all concerned.”