HUNDREDS of students joined motored through the miles as part of a mammoth charity effort.

The "Heck Hike" saw 1,200 students from Heckmondwike Grammar School tackle 10 miles with Andy Bean.

Mr Bean, a managing director at mechanical and electrical services specialists LMB Group, embarked on the challenge of walking one million steps a month for the full year.

The aim is to raise as much money as possible for both Kirkwood Hospice and Children's Heart Surgery Fund.

With the finish line in sight, Mr Bean decided to enlist the help of the school pupils on Friday, September 20.

They included former Bradford City manager Peter Jackson, ex-player Lee Duxbury and the Bantams former CEO James Mason.

There was also support from former Huddersfield Giant Eorl Crabtree and ex-Middlesbrough captain and England international Colin Cooper.

Before the walk, pupils were treated to an energetic warm-up led by Billy Bantam and Kirkwood’s Support and Therapy Manager, Mary Tyrell-Place.

Then there were some words of encouragement from Mr Cooper.

He said: "Good on you all for raising money, you’ll all get something out of today.

"You might have to walk 10 miles, it might hurt, but when you get to the end I promise you will have really enjoyed every step

"Every penny that is raised today and throughout Andy’s challenge is absolutely amazing, you’re all an inspiration."

Mr Bean said: "Everybody can relate to Kirkwood and I myself have personal connections.

"Whilst I’m still fit and young, I wanted to go out and raise money for the hospice.

"I haven’t done the full 32,000 steps every day but whenever I’ve had bad days, I’ve made it up on the good days.

"Some days I’ve done 60,000 steps a day, but I’ve always done 1 million a month."

Kate Leadbeater is the Corporate Fundraiser at Kirkwood and she waved the group off as they took on the Heck Hike.

She said: "We are absolutely delighted to be part of this challenge and we can’t thank Andy and his team at LMB Group enough for choosing to support Kirkwood

"It was wonderful to see the whole of Heckmondwike Grammar School come together to support Andy and take part in their own fundraising.

"We’d like to say a huge thank you to everyone who came to support on the day and everyone who sponsored the students as they walked 10 miles for Kirkwood."