AIRBORNE soldiers went the distance to mark the 75th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Europe by covering thousands of miles on land and water.

Troops from 63 Squadron, 12 Air Assault Support Regiment Royal Logistic Corps, staged a socially distanced triathlon across the space of 75 hours.

They held the challenge at Merville Barracks, Colchester, to raise money for Colchester Foodbank and the Airborne Museum at Hartenstein.

In total, the troops ran 530 miles, cycled 1,452 miles and rowed 562 miles, raising more than £1,100.

At the end of the challenge, the soldiers gathered for an observation of the two-minute silence, marking the 75th anniversary of VE Day.

Organiser Sergeant Callum Milner said: “As a squadron, we wanted to do our bit to mark VE Day and support causes that are important to us and are suffering during the coronavirus crisis.

"This triathlon was ideal – fitness is really importance to us as soldiers, and it’s been great for morale while we’re social distancing.

"We had 70 soldiers take part and it really felt like we were working together towards the same goal, even if we were doing it on our own.”

The Airborne Museum at Hartenstein commemorates the Second World War's Operation Market Garden, a costly Allied airborne foray into the occupied Netherlands.

The Colchester-based unit’s core role is to provide logistic and equipment support to 16 Air Assault Brigade, the British Army’s airborne rapid reaction force.

It is trained and equipped for parachute, helicopter and airlanding operations.