Paramedics run 100km to thank hospital staff

Four paramedics have run 100km (62m) in 24 hours, to thank the staff at the hospital that treated one of their mothers.

Michael Pugsley and three of his colleagues set off from Minehead in Somerset on Tuesday to run between different ambulance stations in the county.

The challenge was inspired by Bev, Pugsley's mother, who was diagnosed with breast cancer last year but is now been told she is clear of the disease.

Pugsley and his friends raised £7,000 for the NHS Somerset Beacon Centre, which provides cancer treatment. He said: "We're all a bit sore, [we've] got a couple of blisters but that's nothing compared to what people battling cancer go through."

In August 2025, Bev was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer, something she said came "completely out of the blue".

"I was completely shocked," Bev said. "When the consultant said I have cancer, I didn't hear anything else.

"Because my hair and lashes - people are going to laugh at this - define who I am, that was the first thing I thought about."

Pugsley said hearing the "tough" diagnosis that his mum had cancer was "the kind of news you never want to hear".

The charity run, with his three colleagues, was on Tuesday, the last day of his mother's radiology sessions.

They set off from Minehead ambulance station, stopping at the stations in Burnham-on-Sea, Bridgwater and Taunton before finishing at Musgrove Park Hospital's Beacon Centre where Bev was treated.

"We did it in just under 17 hours, not including the stops we had at ambulance stations," Pugsley said.

"Everyone thought we were crazy. One of our colleagues met us on the canal path with a cup of tea and cycled along it."

Bev added: "I'm very proud of what they achieved and what they've done. The money is amazing."

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