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Truck pull triumph for charity cause

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By Fiona Reid
Annan and Eskdale

A STRONGMAN from Dumfries raised a ‘tonne’ of money for charity at the weekend when he ‘pulled’ off a mighty feat.

Dave Murray raised more than £2000 for the British Red Cross by hauling a 16 ton truck for 60 yards.

The 47-year-old Red Cross first aid volunteer took the strain in front of a cheering crowd in the Tesco car park at Cuckoo Bridge.

Wearing a special harness and hauling himself along on a rope, Dave, of Kingholm Quay, dragged the massive truck from a standing start to the finishing line in just three minutes.

But the Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary nursing auxiliary was not happy with his time and blamed a couple of unforeseen problems for holding him up.

Dave, who is also a karate expert and instructor, said: “Firstly, I hadn’t spotted a slight dip in the ground on the course which caused extra difficulty and then the sole on one of my trainers split.

“This made each step forward a problem as my foot kept slipping. “The sole was flapping about at a time when I needed as much traction as possible.”

Not wanting to let down the crowd, he added: “They’d come to see me pull the truck and had been kind enough to sponsor me, so I just had to get on with it.

“It wasn’t that difficult, once I got the truck moving. I just had to focus and picture myself pulling the truck. Having said that, I’ve no immediate plans to repeat the challenge.”

And while he might have been disappointed with his time, Dave was certainly happy with the amount he raised.

He said: “The money raised by the truck pull will help the Red Cross to continue the important work that it does helping people in times of crisis.”

 

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