Young farmers from Malmesbury raised more than £6,000 this weekend by pulling a 69ft narrow boat 26 miles from Bradford on Avon to Pewsey.

The group of up to 25 young people used ropes and poles and pulled the barge through 36 locks along the Kennet and Avon Canal for three days raising funds for the Wiltshire Air Ambulance and the Kennet and Avon Canal Trust.

Malmesbury Young Farmers chairman Edd Akerman said pulling the boat up the steep Caen Hill flight of locks was the toughest challenge.

He said: “It took the first morning to get used to how it moved.

“Some of the house boats along the canal had TV aerials so we had to be careful with our ropes.

“It was harder work than we thought but we actually finished in a quicker time than we expected.

“The worst thing was when we lost momentum so we tried to keep it moving all the time.

“We had a number of people come and support us for the toughest part going up Caen Hill near Devizes.”

Each night members stayed in canal side inns with those who had raised the most sponsorship given a berth on the boat.

Mr Akerman said most people greeted the odd sight coming along the canal with amusement.

He said: “There were one or two not very complimentary comments but most people were positive.

“I’m sure it was an unusual sight to see.

“We also had a guy in a dinghy tied to the back of the boat collecting money which went down well.”

The barge pull follows a similar stunt by the young farmers in 2006 when they pushed a Ford Escort from Malmesbury to Weston-super-Mare in memory of friend Dan Brookman who died in a quad bike accident.

This year the group has already raised £6,200 with more money still to be collected.

Mr Akerman said: “A lot of our members are involved with farming and horse riding so we really appreciate the work of the air ambulance.

“And we thought it was also fitting to raise some money for the Kennet and Avon Canal Trust as the canal is celebrating its 200th anniversary.”