PLASTICINE bones and fake minefields were all part of the challenge when a team of hospital staff and their friends joined an army exercise.

The team from Blackburn, Hyndburn and Ribble Valley NHS Trust came out on top during the weekend at a camp at Strensall, near York, followed by sports events at Fulwood Barracks, Preston, on Sunday.

Trust operational manager Peter Wood, of Darwen, joked: "The hardest part was getting up in the mornings -- they woke us at 5am on Sunday!"

The team had to complete challenges on Saturday including rescuing injured soldiers -- complete with fake blood and plasticine broken bones -- while a smoke flare went off under their ambulance. They also had to carry packs eight miles, abseil and climb trees.

On Sunday, they battled through races against nine teams from North West hospitals and beat Lancaster Hospital to the title by just one point. Peter, an ex-soldier who served in West Germany, said they only had half a team on Friday due to last-minute changes, so they drafted in replacements from friends and relatives.

Peter, nurse Lynne Anderson, theatre support worker Joanne Davies and anaesthetist James Fenwick were joined by Lynne's partner Michael Gibbons, sports coach Alison Hannon and special needs teacher Ian Duxbury, both from Darwen, and Peter's brother-in-law Anthony Jones, from York.

He said: "It was great of them to give up their time at such short notice. We really gelled as a team and enjoyed ourselves."