MORE than £24,600 has been raised so far at what is thought to be the longest ever tae kwon-do class. Students from Ely, Mildenhall and Burwell clubs were amongst approximately 240 members of the Mark Farnham Schools of Tae Kwon-Do across East Anglia, who

MORE than £24,600 has been raised so far at what is thought to be the longest ever tae kwon-do class.

Students from Ely, Mildenhall and Burwell clubs were amongst approximately 240 members of the Mark Farnham Schools of Tae Kwon-Do across East Anglia, who took part in a 24-hour class, held at The Queen's School in Wisbech.

It started at 7pm on Friday and all and money raised will go to Macmillan Cancer Support.

Students were split into five groups, covering many aspects of the Korean martial art, and these changed every 30 minutes, with each group resting every two hours.

Head instructor and school owner Mark Farnham said: "I've been in touch with the Guiness Book of Records to see if it is a world record attempt, but it's a long process they have to go through, so we will have to wait for a few weeks to find out."

Participants ranged in age from six to over 60 and some of those taking part had taken up the sport less than four months ago. One hundred and eighty of the participants completed the full 24 hours, whilst others collected donations from the hours that they did complete.

Mr Farnham said: "What a fantastic group of people, I've been so impressed by every single one of them and it went better than I ever could have imagined it would. It was extremely hard, there were some very experienced tae kwon-do players, who have achieved a great deal in the sport, and they told me it is the hardest thing they've ever done, not just in tae kwon-do, but in any walk of life."

Mr Farnham originally estimated that his school would raise at least £10,000, and the success has been overwhelming for him.

He said: "It's been an extremely rewarding experience, not just because of the amount of money raised, but to see people supporting each other was absolutely tremendous. Despite the physical and emotional strain, it was almost like a big party, people were laughing and cheering; I would shout from the front every so often, 'anybody want to go home?' And to hear 200 odd people shout back the word 'no' was just fantastic.

"I would like to thank everybody who has supported us, especially the Queen's School for hosting the event, they did absolutely everything we could ask of them."

- The amount raised from pledged donations is approximately £24,600 and many students have collected extra money since the event finished. Anyone wishing to make any further donations should contact Mr Farnham on 077716 44460, 01553 841880 or mark@markfarnham.freeserve.co.uk