Dartmoor Ten Tors trek starts

Thousands of teenagers have set off over Dartmoor on the Ten Tors trek.

The two-day event, now in its 51st year, started at Okehampton Camp on the northern edge of Dartmoor.

Four hundred teams of six, ranging in age from 14 to 19, are attempting treks of 35, 45 or 55 miles in the Army-organised event.

Each team, most of which are from local schools, is issued with a satellite tracker with a panic button in case they get into trouble.

Horrendous weather

They must camp out overnight on the moor and carry all the food, water, bedding, tents and other essentials.

Brig Steve Hodder, director of Ten Tors and Commander of 43 (Wessex) Brigade, said: "I took part in Ten Tors as a CCF cadet from Exeter School, completing the 35-mile route twice and finishing the 45-mile route early on the Sunday morning in 1975.

"As I look back on it now I realise it was one of the most challenging, but also exciting, things I did when I was growing up.

"I look back with pride on how we learnt how to cope with a waterlogged moor and the horrendous weather conditions of 1974.

"We learnt the importance of looking after each other and crucially how to work together as a team."