Dartmoor trek evacuation complete

The Army, assisted by 700 volunteers and two Sea King helicopters from RNAS Yeovilton in Somerset, started the evacuation at first light on Sunday.

All participants were back at Okehampton, Devon, by 1600 BST.

Among those involved were team-mates of a teenage girl who died training for the event, now in its 47th year.

Charlotte Shaw, 14, from Edgehill College, north Devon, died in March after falling into a swollen stream.

"I'm really, really devastated. We really wanted to finish."
Jenna Drew

The 400 teams, each consisting of six young people, range in age from 14 to 20 and compete on 35, 45 and 55-mile routes.

The two helicopters from RNAS Yeovilton joined the operation on Sunday morning, taking four teams in each airlift.

Others were walked off the moor or taken off by road to Okehampton Camp.

Walkers were reporting minor sprains and blisters, but there were no serious injuries.

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."

Rosy added: "We were really disappointed. Last night we were told we couldn't carry on. It's really bad."

A statement from the organisers said the decision to end the event early was taken at 2130 BST on Saturday because of "deteriorating weather conditions".

The decision was also influenced by the high drop-out rate of 15% on Saturday.

Ten Tors organiser Brigadier Jolyon Jackson said: "Obviously I'm disappointed with the outcome, but I think the youngsters are more disappointed.

"Yesterday was a day of sensible risks. Today would have been a day of silly risks."

Participants who camped out will still get medals for taking part.

Swept away

The event was last severely affected by bad weather in 1996 when 2,100 of the 2,400 taking part were evacuated.

Three boys and eight girls from Edgehill, the college attended by Charlotte Shaw, were in this year's event.

Charlotte died when she was swept away after she dropped some of her kit into the Walla Brook. She fell in when she leaned over to retrieve it.

Edgehill College head teacher Stuart Nicholson said they had been given special permission by the organisers to enter a team larger than the normal six members.

For the first time each team was allowed to carry one mobile phone, for emergencies only.

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