A SALE-based company has donated more than £1,000 to the Gurkha Welfare Trust.

Engineers from the technical and management consultancy Babtie Group, on Ashton Lane, took part in a 100km trail walk along the South Downs way in Brighton as part of the Gurkha Welfare Trust's Trailwalker 2001 event.

Steven Taylor, Steve Holmes and Mark Firth completed the route in 15 hours and 49 minutes to raise money for the charity which provides financial assistance for former Gurkha soldiers who have served in the British army but are not eligible for an official service pension.

Steven first heard about the work of the GWT during a trip to Nepal and decided to raise money when he returned to England, recruiting colleagues Steve and Mark along with support team Simon Shemilt, Steve Fitzgibbon and Trev Taylor. The team trained for months and on the day consumed 10 litres of water each.

Steven said: "The Gurkhas have a long history serving with the British army and are very proud to have done so. Everyone I met during my trip to Nepal was extremely hospitable, generous and friendly but at the same time very poor and often living in difficult conditions. Their situation is not made any easier by the fact that many former Gurkhas are not eligible for an official service pension. When I discovered that each year money was raised to support this fund through GWT's Trailwalker I decided I had to take part, it was great that my colleagues felt the same and that so many of our colleagues and friends were willing to support us."