The dramatic landscape of the Devil’s Punch Bowl provided a fitting start point for an extraordinary endurance challenge as Surrey Search & Rescue volunteers set out on a 100-mile stretcher relay across the county.

Beginning on Friday, March 27, the team left Hindhead at lunchtime and travelled in relay over 48 hours, finishing on Sunday at Reigate Hill Golf Club.

Eight teams took turns carrying a stretcher in legs of around 13 miles, rotating through day and night across Surrey’s hills, woodland and rural tracks. Along the way they carried “Big Ted”, a mascot used to represent missing people — a reminder of the real searches the charity is called to support.

The route was designed to reflect the kind of terrain volunteers regularly face in real call-outs, particularly in areas like Hindhead, where dense woodland and steep ground can make searches challenging and slow.

Surrey Search & Rescue supports Surrey Police in high-risk missing person cases and is on call 24/7. The charity responds to an average of one call-out a week, with around 2,100 people reported missing in Surrey each year.

While the relay was a fundraising challenge, it also aimed to highlight the realities of search operations — often carried out in darkness, difficult conditions and under time pressure.

Jill Thorpe who volunteers at the Punchbowl said: “When we go on a search we can be that lifeline to help someone and their family on their worst day. You show up, and the team works together to make that bad day better.”

The event is also helping raise funds for a new Incident Command Unit, a mobile base used to coordinate searches, communications and welfare on scene. The charity receives no government funding and relies on public support to stay operational.