Pair raise over £12k for charity by pulling Kia Picanto 30 miles in 24 hours

A gruelling charity event has seen a pair drag a new Kia Picanto over 30 miles in 24 hours on foot, raising over £12,000 in the process.

Ed Jackson and Ross Stirling pulled along the new Picanto – which weighs just under a tonne – as far as they could within the 24-hour period along a runway at Bovingdon Airfield, Hertfordshire.

By the end of the gruelling event, the team had raised more than £12,000 for the Millimetres 2 Mountains (M2M) Foundation, which Ed and his wife Lois co-founded. A mental health charity that helps individuals through exploration in the great outdoors, M2M was founded following Ed’s 2017 accident which had seen him misjudge the depth of water in a pool and break his neck – leaving him paralysed from the waist down. Despite being told that he would never walk again, Ed has submitted several mountains – and helped to pull along a Picanto for this event.

Ed said, “Wow, that was a challenge and a half. Every year, we love spreading some Christmas cheer by taking on something a bit daft, and this might just have been our toughest one yet! A huge shoutout to Kia and FJ Chalke for donating the car—not only did it look fantastic, but it made the journey from Somerset to the airfield an absolute breeze. Thank you!”

Ross, meanwhile, has so far raised more than £1 million for charity and is a trustee of the M2M Foundation. He’s currently the creative director of a music venue operator in the US.

Stirling said: “When it comes to fundraisers, I knew this one would be a real mental challenge. Pushing through at 4am in complete darkness was tough, but the incredible supporters who showed up in the morning gave us the energy to keep going! A huge thank you to our amazing sponsors and everyone who contributed—you all made this possible!”