EMOTIONALLY moved by the harrowing picture of the dead Syrian refugee child washed up a Turkish beach, Alex Hickman and John Clark felt they could not sit on their hands and do nothing.

Instead the two fathers, who live in Pewsey and Marlborough, began thinking of ways they could raise money to help support charities reaching out to the refugees.

They decided to embark on a 30 mile walk, which took them ten hours and 53 minutes, during the night across the Salisbury Plain, starting and finishing at Mr Hickman’s house in Wilsford near Pewsey.

“It was quite a spontaneous thing we did after we saw the coverage of that young toddler that drowned,” said Mr Hickman, 44, who is a former advisor to David Cameron.

“We thought what can we do? How do we try and raise some money? And we thought a long walk on the Plain was doable without having to train for months.”

The feat for charities Save the Children and the Bristol Hospitality Network began just after 8pm on the evening of Saturday, September 26, and they finished the following morning just after 7am.

Mr Clark, 44, who lives in Clatford and is father to Oliver, six, and Iona, four, and served in the British Army in Iraq, and Mr Hickman, who runs his own business and is dad to Fred, ten, Jake, eight, and Poppy, four, were both left tired and sore by the end but were determined to not give up.

“It helped us understand - just a little - what it must feel like for the thousands of refugee families currently making their way into Europe,” Mr Hickman added.

"We were very lucky with the weather, and enjoyed the benefit of a full moon and very little cloud cover. It was quite cold but we kept moving. We were both feeling pretty sore by the end, and happy to put our feet up.

“What was most amazing was how quickly people responded and we have raised nearly £3,000 in three weeks.”

To donate go to: fundrazr.com/campaigns/212hR4/ab/b59ZP4